wash
1 washing and drying
2 washing yourself or another person
3 washing clothes
4 washing dishes
other ways of making things clean CLEAN/DIRTY
1 washing and drying
- to make sth clean by using water: wash sth
to wash the car/the floor/the dog
- to wash the inside of sth: wash sth out
You had better wash that jug out thoroughly - I've been using it for flowers.
- to leave sth in water for some time in order to clean it: soak sth; to be left in water to get clean: soak
Leave the saucepans to soak for a while.
- a substance which you use with water to wash yourself or to clean things: soap (noun U); a piece of soap: bar of soap; full of soap: soapy
to wash with soap ◎ Wash in plenty of warm, soapy water.
- to clean sth with soap and water by rubbing it hard, often with a brush: scrub sth; an act of scrubbing: scrub
I scrubbed my hands but I couldn't get the ink off. ◎ I'm going to give the floor a good scrub - it's filthy.
- to remove sth by scrubbing: scrub sth off
They scrubbed off all the writing on the walls.
- a small brush used for scrubbing: scrubbing-brush
- a small piece of material used for cleaning things: cloth; a piece of old cloth that is used for cleaning things: rag
- a cloth for washing the floor: floorcloth
- a bunch of thick strings or a sponge with a long handle which is used for washing floors: mop; if you use one of these, you mop the floor
- a piece of plastic or other material with many small holes which soaks up water, used for cleaning things or washing: sponge
- to wash sth in clean water: rinse sth; to remove soap or dirt from sth with water: rinse sth out; noun: rinse
Rinse your hair thoroughly. ◎ Rinse the soap out carefully. ◎ Give the glasses a good rinse.
- to clean an object by rubbing it with a wet cloth, a piece of paper, etc: wipe sth
Would you wipe the table please?
- to remove all the liquid from sth: dry sth; to become dry: dry
Dry your hands. ◎ The washing is drying in the sunshine.
2 washing yourself or another person
- the room in a house where you wash: bathroom
- to clean yourself or part of yourself with water: have a wash, wash (sth)
I'll have a quick wash, then I'll join you downstairs. ◎ Have you washed yet? ◎ to wash your hands
- to stand and wash under running water: have/take* a shower, shower
I'm going to have a quick shower and get changed.
- to wash yourself in a bath: have/take* a bath
- when you climb into a bath, you get* in, get* into it
I had just got in the bath when the phone rang.
- when you are having a bath, you are in the bath
I could hear him singing in the bath.
- when you climb out of a bath, you get* out (of it)
Get out quickly and dry yourself before you get cold.
- if you wash sb in a bath, you bath them, give* them a bath
It's your turn to bath the children.
- to wash and make yourself look clean and tidy: freshen (yourself) up
I'd like a minute to freshen up before the interview.
- a small, square towel that you use for washing your face: face cloth, flannel
- a piece of rubber or plastic or a natural material that has many small holes and which soaks up water: sponge; to use a wet sponge to clean sb/sth: sponge sb/sth
He sponged himself from head to foot.
- a small brush for cleaning your fingernails: nail brush
- a piece of cloth or paper that you use for drying yourself: towel
a hand towel ◎ paper towels
- a liquid that you use for washing your hair: shampoo (noun U); when you use this, you shampoo your hair
a shampoo for greasy hair
- to wash your teeth: clean/brush your teeth
- to remove hair with a razor: shave sth (off), (used about a man shaving his face) shave, have a shave
※ cleaning your teeth TOOTH
- shaving HAIR
- a bag in which you keep soap, toothpaste, etc, when you are travelling: sponge bag
3 washing clothes
- to clean clothes, etc with water: wash sth
to wash the sheets
- the clothes, etc that need washing: washing (noun U), laundry (noun U)
Don't leave your dirty washing on the floor. ◎ a laundry basket
- if you wash all the clothes, etc that need to be washed, you do* the washing
- the powder that is used for washing clothes: washing powder (noun U), soap powder (noun U), detergent (noun U)
a box/packet of soap powder.
- an electric machine for washing clothes: washing machine
- a machine that dries clothes by moving them about in hot air: tumble-dryer
- a machine that turns wet clothes, etc very quickly to force water out of them: spin-dryer; to use this machine to get the water out of the washing: spin-dry sth
- if you wash clothes, etc in a bowl, not in a machine, you wash them by hand
- a place where you can pay to wash clothes, etc in a washing machine: launderette
- a place where you send clothes, etc to be washed: laundry
- to clean clothes, etc using special chemicals and no water: dry-clean sth
- a shop where clothes can be taken to be dry-cleaned: (dry-)cleaner's
- a thin rope that you can hang clothes on so that they can dry: clothes line, washing line
- the small wooden or plastic object that you use to fasten clothes to a clothes line: (clothes-)peg (AmE clothes-pin)
- to hang washing on a clothes line in the open air: hang* sth out
I hung the sheets out in the garden and the wind dried them quickly.
- to twist and squeeze wet cloth to remove water from it: wring* sth (out)
When you have wrung the clothes out, hang them out to dry.
- to remove creases from clothes, etc with heat: iron (sth)
※ more on ironing IRONING
4 washing dishes
- to wash plates, cups, knives and forks, etc: wash (sth) up, do* the washing-up, do*/wash the dishes
- liquid soap for washing dishes: washing-up liquid (noun U)
- a cloth for washing plates, knives and forks, etc: dishcloth
- an electric machine that washes plates, cups, knives and forks, etc: dishwasher
Put everything in the dishwasher.
- to rub dishes with a cloth to make them dry: dry (sth) up, do* the drying up
- to do the drying up, you use a tea towel
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