I. brush 1 S3 /brʌʃ/ BrE AmE noun
[ Sense 1, 3-6: Date: 1300-1400 ; Origin: Early French broisse , from Old French broce ( ⇨ ↑ brush 1 (2) ); probably because branches from bushes and trees were used to make brushes. ]
[ Sense 2: Date: 1300-1400 ; Language: Old French ; Origin: broce 'broken branches, brushwood' ]
1 . OBJECT FOR CLEANING/PAINTING [countable] an object that you use for cleaning, painting, making your hair tidy etc, made with a lot of hairs, ↑ bristle s , or thin pieces of plastic, fastened to a handle ⇨ broom :
a scrubbing brush
⇨ ↑ hairbrush , ↑ nailbrush , ↑ paintbrush , ↑ toothbrush
2 . TREES [uncountable]
a) small bushes and trees that cover an area of land
b) branches that have broken off bushes and trees
3 . MOVEMENT [singular] a movement in which you brush something to remove dirt, make something smooth, tidy etc:
I’ll just give my hair a quick brush.
4 . TOUCH [singular] a quick light touch, made by chance when two things or people pass each other:
the brush of her silk dress as she walked past
5 . [countable] a time when you only just avoid an unpleasant situation or argument
brush with
His first brush with the law came when he was 16.
A brush with death can make you appreciate life more.
6 . TAIL [countable] the tail of a ↑ fox
II. brush 2 S3 BrE AmE verb
1 . CLEAN/MAKE TIDY [transitive] to clean something or make something smooth and tidy using a brush ⇨ sweep :
Don’t forget to brush your teeth.
2 . REMOVE [transitive always + adverb/preposition] to remove something with a brush or with your hand
brush something off/from etc something
Ella brushed the crumbs off her jacket.
He brushed the tears from his eyes.
3 . TOUCH LIGHTLY [intransitive always + adverb/preposition, transitive] to touch someone or something lightly when passing them:
Something brushed her shoulders.
brush against
I felt her hair brush against my arm.
brush past
Nell brushed past him in the doorway.
4 . PUT SOMETHING ON SOMETHING [transitive always + adverb/preposition] to put a liquid onto something using a brush
brush something with something
Brush the pastry with milk.
brush something over/onto something
Brush a little oil over the top of the pizza.
⇨ brush something under the carpet at ↑ sweep 1 (15)
brush somebody/something ↔ aside phrasal verb
to refuse to listen to someone, or refuse to consider something SYN dismiss :
He simply brushed all my objections aside.
brush somebody/something ↔ down phrasal verb
1 . to clean something using a brush:
He was brushing the pony down.
2 . brush yourself down to use your hands to remove dirt from your clothes, especially after you have fallen
brush somebody/something ↔ off phrasal verb
to refuse to listen to someone or their ideas, especially by ignoring them or saying something rude:
Corman brushed off the accusations.
⇨ ↑ brush-off
brush up (on) something phrasal verb
to practise and improve your skills or your knowledge of something that you learned in the past:
I must brush up on my French before I go to Paris.