v. 1 wash up, clean (up), cleanse, bathe, shower, douche, douse, scrub (up), shampoo, soap up, lather, launder, scour, soak, rinse, flush, wet, drench, deterge, sponge (off), Facetious perform (one's) ablutions, Archaic absterge, Formal or literary lave, Brit bath Please wash the dishes when you have finished eating I must wash before I do anything else. 2 Sometimes, wash away or out or off. remove, move, transport, carry, bear, convey, deliver, deposit, drive, sweep The silt, with the gold dust, is washed downstream In this process, the impurities are washed away. 3 splash, spatter, splatter, plash, dash, beat, pound, thrash, break, toss, surge, undulate, rush, run, lap, ripple, roll, flow We stood watching the sea washing against the breakwater 4 Usually, wash away or off. erode, wear off or away, remove, delete, erase, expunge, destroy, eradicate, obliterate, extinguish, blot out, wipe out After 5000 years, the action of the waves had washed away all traces of the Vengorian civilization 5 Often, wash away or out. erode, cut or dig or wear or eat or dredge (away or out), excavate, channel The river eventually washed out a new course, fifteen miles to the west 6 decontaminate, purify, sift, filter, depurate The wastes are thoroughly washed in these tanks before being discharged into the ocean 7 overlay, film, coat, paint, glaze; plate What do you think of colour they washed the wall? 8 hold up, stand up, stand the test of time, carry weight, bear scrutiny, prove true, make sense, be believable or credible, Colloq hold water I'm afraid that Helen's explanation of her whereabouts at the time of the murder simply won't wash 9 wash down. swallow Here, wash the pill down with this 10 wash (one's) hands of. stay or keep away from, disown, repudiate, turn (one's) back on, have nothing more or further to do with, get rid of, rid (oneself) of, desert, abandon, leave After Neil took the money, Violet washed her hands of him and his problems
n. 11 washing, cleaning, cleansing, scrubbing, scrub, scouring, shampoo, shampooing, bath, bathing, shower, sponge bath, tub-bath; laundering; Facetious ablutions; Colloq Brit tub, tubbing He always likes a good wash and shave before breakfast 12 wave, wake, surge, backwash The wash from passing ships almost swamped our skiff 13 lotion, rinse, liniment, salve, embrocation, emulsion, preparation; mouthwash, gargle; eyewash, collyrium Use this wash twice a day till the condition disappears 14 flow, wave, swell, welling, sweep, sweeping, ebb and flow, surge, surging, undulation, rise and fall Shellfish in the gap cleanse themselves of impurities in the constant tidal wash running through there 15 coat, coating, film, overlay, glaze; plating There is a microscopic wash of gold over the tin to lend the bracelet a little cachet