transitive verb

1. to clean by means of water or other liquid, as by dipping, tumbling, or scrubbing, often with soap, a detergent, etc.
2. to make clean in a religious or moral sense; purify
3. to make wet, or moisten; drench or flush with water or other liquid
4. to cleanse (itself or another) by licking, as a cat does
5. to flow over, past, or against: said of a sea, river, lake, waves, etc.
6. to soak (out), flush (off), or carry (away) by or as by the use or action of water to wash out dirt, a bridge washed away by the flood
7. 1. to make by flowing over and wearing away substance a heavy rain that washed gullies in the bank
   2. to cut into or erode; wear (out or away) by flowing over the flood washed out the road
8. to act as a suitable cleaning agent for soap that will wash silks
9. to cover with a thin or watery coating of paint, esp. of water color
10. to cover with a thin layer of metal
11. Chem.
    1. to pass distilled water through (a precipitate in a filter)
    2. to pass (a gas) over or through a liquid in order to remove soluble matter
12. Mining
    1. to pass water through or over (earth, gravel, etc.) in order to separate ore, metal, precious stones, etc.
    2. to separate (the ore, etc.) in this way

Etymology: ME wasshen < OE wæscan, akin to Ger waschen: for prob. IE base see water

intransitive verb

1. to wash oneself or one's hands, face, etc.: often with up
2. 1. to wash clothes
   2. to clean anything in, or by means of, water, etc.
3. to undergo washing, esp. without fading or other damage
4. to be removed by washing: usually with out or away stains that will wash out
5. to sweep or flow (over, against, along, up, etc.) in or as in waves or a current, stream, etc.
6. to be cut, worn, or carried (out or away) by the action of water the bridge had washed out
7. to be eroded, as by the action of rain or a river
8. Informal to withstand a test or examination an alibi that won't wash

noun

1. 1. the act or an instance of washing
   2. ☆ a place where something is washed carwash
2. a quantity of clothes, etc. washed, or to be washed
3. waste liquid; refuse liquid food, as from cooking; swill; hogwash
4. 1. the rush, sweep, or surge of water or waves
   2. the sound of this
   3. water rushing, sweeping, or surging in waves
   4. the surge or eddy of water caused by a propeller, oars, paddle wheel, etc.
   5. a disturbed eddy of air left behind a moving airplane, propeller, etc.
5. wear or erosion caused by a flow or falling of water, or by the action of waves
6. silt, mud, debris, etc. carried and dropped by running water, as of a stream
7. soil or earth from which metals, ores, precious stones, etc. may be washed
8. 1. low ground which is flooded part of the time, and partly dry the rest, with water standing in pools
   2. a bog; marsh
   3. a shallow pool or pond, or a small stream
   4. a shallow arm of the sea or part of a river
9. a channel made by running water
10. ☆ in the western U.S., the dry bed of a stream which flows only occasionally, usually in a ravine or canyon
11. a thin, watery layer of paint, esp. of watercolor, applied with even, sweeping movement of the brush
12. a thin coating of metal applied to a surface in liquid form
13. any of various liquids as for cosmetic, grooming, or medicinal use mouthwash
14. fermented liquor ready for distillation
15. weak liquor or liquid food
16. ☆ Informal a drink of water, beer, etc. taken with whiskey, rum, etc.; chaser
17. ☆ Informal a situation in which contrasted elements, as the losses and gains in a business transaction, offset each other

adjective