Brush Definition

brŭsh

brushed, brushes, brushing

noun

brushes

Webster's New World

A device having bristles, hairs, or wires fastened into a hard back, with or without a handle attached: brushes are used for cleaning, polishing, painting, smoothing the hair, etc.

Webster's New World

A sweeping stroke of the hand, as in removing something.

American Heritage

The act of brushing.

Webster's New World

A device of wires attached in a fanlike spread to a handle, used as on drums or cymbals for a swishing or muted effect.

Webster's New World

Synonyms:

Synonyms:
maulstick
shrubwood
scrubwood
attouchement
light-touch
sketchpad
scratchboard
paintbrush
siccative
copse
coppice
thicket
brushwood
encounter
clash

verb

brushed, brushes, brushing

To use a brush on; clean, polish, paint, smooth, etc. with a brush.

Webster's New World

To hurry.

Webster's New World

To go over lightly, as with a brush.

Webster's New World

To apply, spread, remove, etc. with a stroke or strokes as of a brush.

Webster's New World

To dismiss abruptly or curtly.

Brushed the matter aside; brushed an old friend off.

American Heritage

Synonyms:

idiom

brush aside

to sweep out of the way
to dismiss from consideration

Webster's New World

brush off

to dismiss or get rid of abruptly or rudely

Webster's New World

brush up

to make neat or presentable
to refresh one's memory or skill
to brush up on one's French

Webster's New World

Other Word Forms of Brush

Noun

Singular:

brush

Plural:

brushes

Idioms, Phrasal Verbs Related to Brush

Origin of Brush

Middle English brusshe, from Old French broisse (compare Modern French brosse) from Vulgar Latin *bruscia from Proto-Germanic *bruskaz (“underbrush”), from Proto-Indo-European *bhreus- (“to swell, sprout”). Akin to Middle High German bürste (“brush”), Old English byrst (“bristle”), Middle High German broz (“a bud, shoot”), Old English brēost (“breast”), Proto-Slavic *bъrščь (“hogweed”).

From Wiktionary
Middle English brushe from Old French brosse brushwood from Vulgar Latin bruscia perhaps from Latin bruscum knot on a maple

From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
Middle English brusshe from Old French brosse brushwood, brush brush²

From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition