INDEX:
1. to wash your hands/face/body etc
2. to wash in a bath or shower
3. to wash a car/floor/wall etc
4. to wash clothes
5. to wash cups/plates/knives etc
6. to wash something using water but without soap
RELATED WORDS
to remove dirt, marks etc from something : ↑ REMOVE (3)
see also
↑ CLEAN
↑ DIRTY
↑ MARK
↑ SHINE/SHINY
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1. to wash your hands/face/body etc
▷ wash /wɒʃǁwɔːʃ, wɑːʃ/ [intransitive/transitive verb]
to clean yourself with soap and water :
▪ Harry went upstairs to wash.
wash your hands/face/hair etc
▪ She was washing her hair when the phone rang.
▪ Have you boys washed your hands yet?
wash [singular noun]
▪ He looks as if he could do with a good wash.
▷ have a wash [verb phrase] British /wash up [intransitive phrasal verb] American /hæv ə ˈwɒʃ, ˌwɒʃ ˈʌpǁ-ˈwɔːʃ/
to wash your hands and face :
▪ You’ll feel better once you’ve had a wash and something to eat.
▪ You kids go wash up now - dinner’s nearly ready.
▷ freshen up /ˌfreʃ ə n ˈʌp/ [intransitive phrasal verb] especially spoken
to wash your face and hands so that you feel more comfortable, for example when you have been working hard or travelling :
▪ The bathroom’s on the right if you’d like to freshen up.
▪ She hoped there would be time to freshen up before the interview.
▷ get cleaned up /get ˌkliːnd ˈʌp/ [verb phrase]
to wash yourself after you have got dirty doing something :
▪ I’ll make the dinner - just give me chance to get cleaned up first.
▪ He’s upstairs in the bathroom getting cleaned up.
▷ spruce yourself up/get spruced up /ˌspruːs jɔːʳself ˈʌp, get ˌspruːst ˈʌp/ [verb phrase]
to get washed and make yourself look tidy or change your clothes :
▪ She went into the washroom at the airport to get spruced up before meeting the others.
▷ brush your teeth also clean your teeth British /ˌbrʌʃ jɔːʳ ˈtiːθ, ˌkliːn jɔːʳ ˈtiːθ/ [verb phrase]
to clean your teeth with a small brush :
▪ Have you brushed your teeth this morning?
▪ I cleaned my teeth, flattened down my hair, and rushed out of the door.
▷ wipe /waɪp/ [transitive verb]
to clean your hands or face by gently rubbing them with a cloth or with your hand :
▪ Wipe your face. There’s chocolate all around your mouth.
▪ Wiping his oily hands on a piece of cloth, he reached into his pocket and handed me the bill.
wipe [singular noun]
▪ Give your nose a wipe wipe it .
▷ cleanse /klenz/ [transitive verb]
to clean your skin, especially using a special liquid cream :
▪ This lotion cleanses your skin deep down, while preserving its natural pH balance.
▷ shampoo /ʃæmˈpuː/ [transitive verb]
to wash your hair with shampoo a special liquid soap for washing hair :
▪ It’s a new conditioner. Simply shampoo your hair, towel dry, and spray it in.
2. to wash in a bath or shower
▷ have a shower British /take a shower /ˌhæv ə ˈʃaʊəʳ, ˌteɪk ə ˈʃaʊəʳ/ [verb phrase]
to wash your whole body while standing under a shower :
▪ I’ll just have a quick shower and get changed.
▪ She decided to take a shower before dinner.
▷ have a bath British /take a bath American /ˌhæv ə ˈbɑːθ, ˌteɪk ə ˈbɑːθǁ-ˈbæθ/ [verb phrase]
to wash your whole body while sitting in a bath full of water :
▪ Is there enough hot water for me to have a bath?
▪ I just had time to take a bath and change before we had to go out again.
▷ be in the bath British /be in the bathtub American /biː ɪn ðə ˈbɑːθ, ɪn ðə ˈbɑːθtʌbǁ-ˈbæθ-/ [verb phrase]
to be sitting in a bath washing your whole body :
▪ ‘Where’s Barry?’ ‘He’s in the bath.’
▪ My wife was still in the bathtub when I got back from work.
▷ shower /ˈʃaʊəʳ/ [intransitive verb]
to have a shower :
▪ I got up early as usual, and showered and shaved.
▪ It’s so hot there, you have to shower three or four times a day.
▷ bath British /bathe American /bɑːθǁbæθ, beɪð/ [transitive verb]
to wash someone, especially a baby or a child, in a bath :
▪ Make sure you bathe the kids and put them to bed before eight.
▪ Louise loved being bathed when she was a baby.
3. to wash a car/floor/wall etc
▷ wash /wɒʃǁwɔːʃ, wɑːʃ/ [transitive verb]
to clean something using a lot of water, and usually soap :
▪ I really must wash the car this weekend.
▪ When we moved in, we spent a whole day washing all the floors and paintwork.
wash in
▪ The spinach leaves should be washed in cold water.
▷ clean /kliːn/ [transitive verb]
to clean something using soap and water, and usually by rubbing with a cloth or brush :
▪ Where’s that stuff you use for cleaning the bathtub?
▪ I usually clean the windows about once a month.
▷ mop /mɒpǁmɑːp/ [transitive verb]
to wash a floor using a special tool with a long handle that is dipped in a bucket of water :
▪ Dan has to mop the floor of the café every night.
▷ scrub /skrʌb/ [intransitive/transitive verb]
to make something very clean, using a stiff brush and water, or soap and water :
▪ Martin washed the mud off his hands and scrubbed his nails.
▪ Lou was on her knees, scrubbing the kitchen floor.
▪ Scrub the potatoes, then put them in a pan of boiling water.
▷ wash down /ˌwɒʃ ˈdaʊnǁˌwɔːʃ-/ [transitive phrasal verb]
to wash something large with a lot of water :
wash down something
▪ Wash down the walls and leave them to dry before putting up new wallpaper.
wash something down
▪ Carol washed the van down and checked the oil and tyres.
▷ wash out /ˌwɒʃ ˈaʊtǁˌwɔːʃ-/ [transitive phrasal verb]
to wash the inside of a cup, glass, pan, or container :
wash out something
▪ I’ll just go and wash out these glasses.
wash something out
▪ When the bottle is empty, wash it out thoroughly before refilling.
4. to wash clothes
▷ wash /wɒʃǁwɔːʃ, wɑːʃ/ [intransitive/transitive verb]
to wash clothes, especially in a washing machine :
▪ Could you wash this shirt for me?
▪ I seem to spend all my time washing and ironing these days.
▪ You ought to wash that sweater by hand.
▷ dry-clean /ˌdraɪ ˈkliːn/ [transitive verb]
to clean clothes by using special chemicals instead of soap and water :
▪ Don’t put that dress in the washing machine - the label says it should be dry-cleaned.
dry-cleaner’s [countable noun]
a shop where you can get your clothes dry-cleaned :
▪ Could you collect my suit from the dry-cleaner’s?
▷ do the washing British /do the laundry American /ˌduː ðə ˈwɒʃɪŋǁ-ˈwɔːʃ-, ˌduː ðə ˈlɔːndri/ [verb phrase]
to wash clothes that need to be washed :
▪ Did you do the laundry this morning?
▪ I had to go to the laundromat to do the washing.
▷ hand wash/handwash /ˈhænd wɒʃǁ-wɔːʃ, -wɑːʃ/ [transitive verb]
to wash clothes by hand, not in a washing machine :
▪ I usually hand wash the socks and underwear, and put the rest in the machine.
▪ Delicate garments and woollens should be handwashed.
▷ be in the wash /biː ɪn ðə ˈwɒʃǁ-ˈwɔːʃ/ [verb phrase]
clothes that are in the wash are being washed or are waiting to be washed :
▪ ‘Where’s my yellow blouse?’ ‘It’s in the wash.’
▪ You’ll have to wear these - your other pants are in the wash.
▷ laundry also washing British /ˈlɔːndri, ˈwɒʃɪŋǁˈwɔːʃ-/ [uncountable noun]
clothes that need to be washed, are being washed, or have just been washed :
▪ a basket of laundry
▪ There was dirty washing all over the floor.
▷ washable /ˈwɒʃəb ə lǁˈwɔːʃ-, ˈwɑːʃ-/ [adjective]
able to be washed in water without being spoiled :
▪ Let’s have a look at the label on those trousers. Are they washable?
▪ I always buy cotton clothes that are easily washable.
5. to wash cups/plates/knives etc
▷ wash the dishes/do the dishes /ˌwɒʃ ðə ˈdɪʃə̇zǁˌwɔːʃ-, ˌduː ðə ˈdɪʃə̇z/ [verb phrase]
to wash all the cups, plates, knives etc that you have used during a meal :
▪ My mom always makes me wash the dishes.
▪ Can I help you do the dishes?
▷ do the washing up/wash up /duː ðə ˌwɒʃɪŋ ˈʌp, ˌwɒʃ ˈʌpǁ-ˌwɔːʃ-/ [] British
to wash all the cups, plates, knives etc that you have used during a meal :
▪ If you do the cooking tonight, I’ll do the washing up.
▪ Who’s going to wash up?
washing-up [countable noun]
the dirty plates, dishes, knives etc that have to be washed :
▪ The sink was full of washing-up.
6. to wash something using water but without soap
▷ rinse /rɪns/ [transitive verb]
to wash something with water in order to remove soap or dirt :
▪ I’ll just rinse the lettuce under the tap.
▪ Rosie rinsed her mouth to get rid of the taste.
rinse out something
quickly clean a container, just using water
▪ He rinsed out a glass and poured himself a whiskey.
rinse [singular noun]
give something a rinse
▪ Pass me your cup, and I’ll give it a quick rinse.
▷ soak/leave something to soak /səʊk, ˌliːv something tə ˈsəʊk/ [transitive verb/verb phrase]
to leave something in water for a long time in order to clean it or make it easier to wash later :
▪ You’ll have to soak that shirt to get the blood off it.
leave something to soak
▪ Just leave that pan to soak overnight.