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
Both jaws have bands of small, brushlike teeth, the outer ones in the upper jaw somewhat longer.
Bass, Pike, Perch, and Others | James Alexander HenshallThe teeth of the jaws are in brushlike bands, with somewhat longer ones in the upper jaw.
Bass, Pike, Perch, and Others | James Alexander HenshallIts teeth are in brushlike bands on the jaws, with patches on the tongue.
Bass, Pike, Perch, and Others | James Alexander Henshall
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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