- brushwood
- sparsely settled country, covered with wild scrub growth
- 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.
- a device of wires attached in a fanlike spread to a handle, used as on drums or cymbals for a swishing or muted effect
- the act of brushing
- a light, grazing stroke: a brush of the hand
- brushwork
- a bushy tail, esp. that of a fox
- Slang brushoff
- Elec.
- a piece, plate, rod, or bundle of carbon, copper, etc. used as a conductor between an external circuit and a revolving part, as in a motor
- brush discharge
Origin of brush
Middle English brushe from Old French broce, brosse, bush, brushwood from Vulgar Latin an unverified form bruscia from Germanic an unverified form bruskaz, underbrush: for Indo-European base see breast- to use a brush on; clean, polish, paint, smooth, etc. with a brush
- to apply, spread, remove, etc. with a stroke or strokes as of a brush
- to go over lightly, as with a brush
- to touch or graze in passing
to move so as to push lightly aside, skim, or graze past something
brush Idioms
brush aside
- to sweep out of the way
- to dismiss from consideration
brush off
Slang to dismiss or get rid of abruptly or rudely
brush up
- to make neat or presentable
- to refresh one's memory or skill: often with on: to brush up on one's French
