brush
1an implement consisting of bristles, hair, or the like, set in or attached to a handle, used for painting, cleaning, polishing, grooming, etc.
one of a pair of devices consisting of long, thin handles with wire bristles attached, used in jazz or dance bands for keeping a soft, rhythmic beat on the trap drums or the cymbals.
the bushy tail of an animal, especially of a fox.
Electricity.
a conductor, often made of carbon or copper or a combination of the two, serving to maintain electric contact between stationary and moving parts of a machine, generator, or other apparatus.
a feathery or hairy tuft or tassel, as on the tip of a kernel of grain or on a man's hat.
an act or instance of brushing; application of a brush.
a light, stroking touch.
a brief conflict or fight; skirmish: He has already had one brush with the law.
a close approach, especially to something undesirable or harmful: a brush with disaster.
to sweep, paint, clean, polish, etc., with a brush.
to touch lightly in passing; pass lightly over: His lips brushed her ear.
to remove by brushing or by lightly passing over: His hand brushed a speck of lint from his coat.
to move or skim with a slight contact.
brush aside, to disregard; ignore: Our complaints were simply brushed aside.
brush off, to rebuff; send away: She had never been brushed off so rudely before.
brush up on, to revive, review, or resume (studies, a skill, etc.): She's thinking of brushing up on her tennis.: Also brush up.
Idioms about brush
get the brush, to be rejected or rebuffed: She greeted Jim effusively, but I got the brush.
give the brush, to ignore, rebuff, etc.: If you're still angry with him, give him the brush.
Origin of brush
1Other words for brush
Other words from brush
- brush·a·ble, adjective
- brusher, noun
- brushlike, adjective
- un·brush·a·ble, adjective
Other definitions for brush (2 of 3)
a dense growth of bushes, shrubs, etc.; scrub; thicket.
a pile or covering of lopped or broken branches; brushwood.
bushes and low trees growing in thick profusion, especially close to the ground.
Also called brushland . land or an area covered with thickly growing bushes and low trees.
backwoods; a sparsely settled wooded region.
Origin of brush
2Other words from brush
- brush·i·ness, noun
Other definitions for Brush (3 of 3)
Katharine, 1902–52, U.S. novelist and short-story writer.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use brush in a sentence
He observed that they “seem to cut their characters out with hatchets and to color them with the brushes of house-painters.”
He kept his iPhone by his bedside and would draw the dawn using the Brushes app.
As good Germans they quietly washed their brushes and, as good family men, went home.
The Stacks: How The Berlin Wall Inspired John le Carré’s First Masterpiece | John le Carré | November 8, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTIncorvaia warned that talking “about a situation that the older generation brushes under the table” was imperative for Italians.
Italy’s Lost Generation: Youth Unemployment Hits Nearly 50 Percent | Barbie Latza Nadeau | June 7, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTJust like Palin, the conservative candidate has had his brushes with controversy.
A subtle current of desire passed through her body, weakening her hold upon the brushes and making her eyes burn.
The Awakening and Selected Short Stories | Kate ChopinHe washed the cement floor with the hose, and while waiting for it to dry he rinsed his brushes in turpentine.
The Box-Car Children | Gertrude Chandler WarnerLittle brushes dipped in Indian ink are used for writing, the writing itself extending down the paper from right to left.
A Woman's Journey Round the World | Ida PfeifferBut the foreigners' brushes, and their little tubes of ill-smelling gum colored with dead hues!
The Dragon Painter | Mary McNeil FenollosaThe elder woman took up the brushes and stroked the shining hair with tender, loving hand.
A Butterfly on the Wheel | Cyril Arthur Edward Ranger Gull
British Dictionary definitions for brush (1 of 2)
/ (brʌʃ) /
a device made of bristles, hairs, wires, etc, set into a firm back or handle: used to apply paint, clean or polish surfaces, groom the hair, etc
the act or an instance of brushing
a light stroke made in passing; graze
a brief encounter or contact, esp an unfriendly one; skirmish
the bushy tail of a fox, often kept as a trophy after a hunt, or of certain breeds of dog
an electric conductor, esp one made of carbon, that conveys current between stationary and rotating parts of a generator, motor, etc
a dark brush-shaped region observed when a biaxial crystal is viewed through a microscope, caused by interference between beams of polarized light
(tr) to clean, polish, scrub, paint, etc, with a brush
(tr) to apply or remove with a brush or brushing movement: brush the crumbs off the table
(tr) to touch lightly and briefly
(intr) to move so as to graze or touch something lightly
Origin of brush
1- See also brush aside, brush off, brush up
Derived forms of brush
- brusher, noun
- brushlike, adjective
British Dictionary definitions for brush (2 of 2)
/ (brʌʃ) /
a thick growth of shrubs and small trees; scrub
land covered with scrub
broken or cut branches or twigs; brushwood
wooded sparsely populated country; backwoods
Origin of brush
2Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Other Idioms and Phrases with brush
In addition to the idioms beginning with brush
- brush aside
- brush off
- brush up
also see:
- give someone the air (brush off)
- have a brush with
- tarred with the same brush
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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