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washing - 7 dictionary results
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wash⋅ing

  [wosh-ing, waw-shing]
Use washing in a Sentence
–noun
1. the act of a person or thing that washes; ablution.
2. clothes, linens, etc., washed or to be washed, esp. those washed at one time; wash.
3. Often, washings. any liquid that has been used to wash something.
4. matter removed or carried off in washing something or by the force of water: The washings from numerous spring floods had clogged the mouth of the river.
5. Mining.
a. material, as gold dust, obtained by washing earth, gravel, etc.
b. the deposits so washed.
6. wash (def. 45).
7. the act of making a wash sale.
Origin:
1175–1225; ME wasschunge. See wash, -ing 1
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wash

  [wosh, wawsh]
–verb (used with object)
1. to apply water or some other liquid to (something or someone) for the purpose of cleansing; cleanse by dipping, rubbing, or scrubbing in water or some other liquid.
2. to remove (dirt, stains, paint, or any matter) by or as by the action of water (usually fol. by out, off, etc.): to wash grime out of clothing.
3. to free from spiritual defilement or from sin, guilt, etc.: to be washed whiter than the snow.
4. to bathe, wet, or moisten with water or other liquid: a meadow newly washed with morning dew.
5. to flow through, over, or against: a shore or cliff washed by waves.
6. to carry, bring, remove, or deposit (something) by means of water or any liquid, or as the water or liquid does (often fol. by up, down, or along): The storm washed the boat up on the shore. A sailor was washed overboard.
7. to wear or diminish, as water does by flowing over or against a surface (often fol. by out or away): The rain had washed away the lettering on the stone.
8. (of water) to form by flowing over and eroding a surface: The flood had washed a new channel through the bottom lands.
9. Mining.
a. to subject (earth or ore) to the action or force of water in order to separate valuable material.
b. to separate (valuable material) in this way.
10. to purify (a gas or gaseous mixture) by passage through or over a liquid.
11. to cover with a watery or thin coat of color.
12. to overlay with a thin coat or deposit of metal: to wash brass with gold.
13. Slang. launder (def. 3).
–verb (used without object)
14. to wash oneself: After using the insecticide spray they washed completely.
15. to wash clothes: Monday is the day we wash.
16. to cleanse anything with or in water or other liquid.
17. to undergo washing without injury, esp. shrinking or fading: fabrics guaranteed to wash.
18. Informal. to be found true, valid, or real when tested or closely scrutinized; stand being put to the proof: His honesty won't wash.
19. to be carried or driven by water (often fol. by along or ashore): The boat had washed ashore in the night.
20. to flow or beat with a lapping sound, as waves on a shore.
21. to move along in or as in waves, or with a rushing movement, as water.
22. to be eroded, as by a stream or by rainfall: a hillside that washes frequently.
23. to be removed by the action of water (often fol. by away): Much of the topsoil washes away each spring.
–noun
24. the act or process of washing with water or other liquid: to give the car a wash.
25. a quantity of clothes, linens, etc., washed, or to be washed, at one time: a heavy wash.
26. a liquid with which something is washed, wetted, colored, overspread, etc.: She gave the room a wash of pale blue.
27. the flow, sweep, dash, or breaking of water: The wash of the waves had drenched us.
28. the sound made by this: listening to the wash of the Atlantic.
29. water moving along in waves or with a rushing movement: the wash of the incoming tide.
30. the rough or broken water left behind a moving ship, boat, etc.; wake: The little boats tossed about in the wash from the liner's propellers.
31. Aeronautics. the disturbance in the air left behind by a moving airplane or any of its parts: wing wash.
32. any of various liquids for grooming or cosmetic purposes: a hair wash.
33. a lotion or other liquid having medicinal properties, as an antiseptic solution or the like (often used in combination): to apply wash to a skinned knee; mouthwash; eyewash.
34. Mining. minerals from which valuable material can be extracted by washing.
35. the wearing away of the shore by breaking waves.
36. a tract of land washed by the action of the sea or a river.
37. a marsh, fen, or bog.
38. a small stream or shallow pool.
39. a shallow arm of the sea or a shallow part of a river.
40. a depression or channel formed by flowing water.
41. Geology. alluvial matter transferred and deposited by flowing water.
42. Also called dry wash. Western U.S. the dry bed of an intermittent stream.
43. a broad, thin layer of color applied by a continuous movement of the brush, as in water-color painting.
44. Also called watershed, weathering. Architecture.
a. an upper surface so inclined as to shed rain water from a building.
b. any member of a building having such a surface.
45. Also, washing. a thin coat of metal applied in liquid form: a gold wash.
46. waste liquid matter, refuse, food, etc., from the kitchen, as for hogs; swill (often used in combination): hogwash.
47. washy or weak liquor or liquid food.
48. the fermented wort from which the spirit is extracted in distilling.
49. Informal. an action that yields neither gain nor loss: The company's financial position is a wash compared with last year.
–adjective
50. capable of being washed without shrinking, fading, etc.; washable: a wash dress.
—Verb phrases
51. wash down,
a. to clean completely by washing: to wash down a car.
b. to facilitate the swallowing of (food or medicine) by drinking water or other liquid: to wash down a meal with a glass of wine.
52. wash out,
a. to be removed by washing: The stain wouldn't wash out.
b. to damage or demolish by the action of water: The embankment was washed out by the storm.
c. Informal. to fail to qualify or continue; be eliminated: to wash out of graduate school.
d. to become dim, indistinct, or blurred: The face of the watch washes out in sunlight.
53. wash up,
a. to wash one's face and hands: Aren't you going to wash up? Dinner is almost ready.
b. to wash (dishes, flatware, pots, etc.): I'll wash up the dishes, don't bother. We had someone in to wash up after the party.
c. to end, esp. ignominiously (usually in the passive): After that performance, he's all washed up as a singer.
—Idioms
54. come out in the wash,
a. to have a good or satisfactory result; turn out eventually: The situation may look hopeless now, but it will all come out in the wash.
b. to be revealed; become known.
55. wash one's hands of. hand (def. 88).
Origin:
bef. 900; ME washen (v.), OE wascan (c. D wasschen, G waschen, ON vaska) < Gmc *watskan, equiv. to *wat- (root of water ) + *-sk- v. suffix + *-an inf. suffix

Synonyms:
1. clean, lave, rinse, launder, mop, swab. 4. bedew. 5. bathe. 24. ablution, cleansing, bathing. 37. swamp, morass.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To washing
wash   (wŏsh, wôsh)   
v.   washed, wash·ing, wash·es

v.   tr.
    1. To cleanse, using water or other liquid, usually with soap, detergent, or bleach, by immersing, dipping, rubbing, or scrubbing: wash one's hands; wash windows.
    2. To soak, rinse out, and remove (dirt or stain) with or as if with water: wash grease out of overalls.
    3. To purify (a gas) by passing through or over a liquid, as to remove soluble matter.
    4. To pass a solvent, such as distilled water, through (a precipitate).
  2. To make moist or wet; drench: Tears washed the child's cheeks.
  3. To flow over, against, or past: waves that washed the sandy shores.
  4. To carry, erode, remove, or destroy by the action of moving water: Heavy rains washed the topsoil away.
  5. To rid of corruption or guilt; cleanse or purify: wash sins away.
  6. To cover or coat with a watery layer of paint or other coloring substance.
  7. Chemistry
    1. To purify (a gas) by passing through or over a liquid, as to remove soluble matter.
    2. To pass a solvent, such as distilled water, through (a precipitate).
  8. To separate constituents of (an ore) by immersion in or agitation with water.
  9. To cause to undergo a swirling action: washed the tea around in the cup.
v.   intr.
  1. To cleanse something in or by means of water or other liquid.
    1. To undergo washing without fading or other damage: This fabric will wash.
    2. Informal To hold up under examination; be convincing: "That [proclamation], of course, will not wash" (John Hughes).
  3. To flow, sweep, or beat with a characteristic lapping sound: Waves washed over the pilings.
  4. To be carried away, removed, or drawn by the action of water.
n.  
  1. The act or process of washing or cleansing.
  2. A quantity of articles washed or intended for washing: The wash is on the back porch.
  3. Waste liquid; swill.
  4. Fermented liquid from which liquor is distilled.
  5. A preparation or product used in washing or coating.
  6. A cosmetic or medicinal liquid, such as a mouthwash.
    1. A thin layer of watercolor or India ink spread on a drawing.
    2. A light tint or hue: "a wash of red sunset" (Thomas Pynchon).
    3. A rush or surge of water or waves.
    4. The sound of this rush or surge.
    5. Removal or erosion of soil by the action of moving water.
    6. A deposit of recently eroded debris.
    7. Low or marshy ground washed by tidal waters.
    8. A stretch of shallow water.
    1. A rush or surge of water or waves.
    2. The sound of this rush or surge.
    3. Removal or erosion of soil by the action of moving water.
    4. A deposit of recently eroded debris.
    5. Low or marshy ground washed by tidal waters.
    6. A stretch of shallow water.
    1. Removal or erosion of soil by the action of moving water.
    2. A deposit of recently eroded debris.
    3. Low or marshy ground washed by tidal waters.
    4. A stretch of shallow water.
    1. Low or marshy ground washed by tidal waters.
    2. A stretch of shallow water.
  11. Western U.S. The dry bed of a stream.
  12. Turbulence in air or water caused by the motion or action of an oar, propeller, jet, or airfoil.
  13. Informal An activity, action, or enterprise that yields neither marked gain nor marked loss: "[The company] doesn't do badly. That is, it's a wash" (Harper's).
adj.  
  1. Used for washing.
  2. Being such that washing is possible; washable.
  3. To clean by washing with water from top to bottom: wash down the walls.
  4. To follow the ingestion of (food, for example) with the ingestion of a liquid: washed the cake down with coffee.
    1. To remove or be removed by washing.
    2. To cause to fade by laundering: color that had been washed out by bleach.
  6. To carry or wear away or be carried or worn away by the action of moving water: The river rose and washed out the dam. The road has washed out five miles down the mountain.
  7. To deplete or become depleted of vitality: By evening, I was washed out from overwork.
  8. To eliminate or be eliminated as unsatisfactory: a football player who was washed out; an officer candidate who washed out after one month.
  9. To cause (an event) to be rained out.
  10. To wash one's hands.
  11. Chiefly British To wash dishes after a meal.
  12. To burn out; exhaust: all washed up as a politician.
Phrasal Verb(s):
wash down
  1. To clean by washing with water from top to bottom: wash down the walls.
  2. To follow the ingestion of (food, for example) with the ingestion of a liquid: washed the cake down with coffee.
wash out
    1. To remove or be removed by washing.
    2. To cause to fade by laundering: color that had been washed out by bleach.
  2. To carry or wear away or be carried or worn away by the action of moving water: The river rose and washed out the dam. The road has washed out five miles down the mountain.
  3. To deplete or become depleted of vitality: By evening, I was washed out from overwork.
  4. To eliminate or be eliminated as unsatisfactory: a football player who was washed out; an officer candidate who washed out after one month.
  5. To cause (an event) to be rained out.
wash up
  1. To wash one's hands.
  2. Chiefly British To wash dishes after a meal.
  3. To burn out; exhaust: all washed up as a politician.

Idiom(s):
come out in the wash Slang
  1. To be revealed eventually: The real reasons for her resignation will come out in the wash.
  2. To turn out well in the end: Don't worry: this project will come out in the wash.

Idiom(s):
wash (one's) hands of
  1. To refuse to accept responsibility for.
  2. To abandon; renounce.

[Middle English washen, from Old English wacsan, wæscan; see wed-1 in Indo-European roots.]
wash·ing   (wŏsh'ĭng, wô'shĭng)   
n.  
  1. The act or process of one that washes.
  2. Articles washed or intended to be washed at one time: the week's washing.
  3. The residue after an ore or other material has been washed.
  4. The liquid used to wash something. Often used in the plural.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Washing

Wash"ing\, n. 1. (Mining) Gold dust procured by washing; also, a place where this is done; a washery.

2. A thin covering or coat; as, a washing of silver.

3. (Stock Exchanges) The operation of simultaneously buying and selling the same stock for the purpose of manipulating the market. The transaction is fictitious, and is prohibited by stock-exchange rules.

4. (Pottery) The covering of a piece with an infusible powder, which prevents it from sticking to its supports, while receiving the glaze.

Washing

Wash"ing\, n. 1. The act of one who washes; the act of cleansing with water; ablution.

2. The clothes washed, esp. at one time; a wash.

Washing bear (Zo["o]l.), the raccoon.

Washing bottle (Chem.), a bottle fitted with glass tubes passing through the cork, so that on blowing into one of the tubes a stream of water issuing from the other may be directed upon anything to be washed or rinsed, as a precipitate upon a filter, etc.

Washing fluid, a liquid used as a cleanser, and consisting usually of alkaline salts resembling soaps in their action.

Washing machine, a machine for washing; specifically, a machine for washing clothes.

Washing soda. (Chem.) See Sodium carbonate, under Sodium.

Washing stuff, any earthy deposit containing gold enough to pay for washing it; -- so called among gold miners.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : washing
Spanish: lavar; hacer la colada; lavar los platos,
German: das Waschen,
Japanese: 洗濯
More Translations »

Washing

(Mark 7:1-9). The Jews, like other Orientals, used their fingers when taking food, and therefore washed their hands before doing so, for the sake of cleanliness. Here the reference is to the ablutions prescribed by tradition, according to which "the disciples ought to have gone down to the side of the lake, washed their hands thoroughly, 'rubbing the fist of one hand in the hollow of the other, then placed the ten finger-tips together, holding the hands up, so that any surplus water might flow down to the elbow, and thence to the ground.'" To neglect to do this had come to be regarded as a great sin, a sin equal to the breach of any of the ten commandments. Moses had commanded washings oft, but always for some definite cause; but the Jews multiplied the legal observance till they formed a large body of precepts. To such precepts about ceremonial washing Mark here refers. (See ABLUTION.)

Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary
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