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washer

[wosh-er, waw-sher] /ˈwɒʃ ər, ˈwɔ ʃər/
See more synonyms on Thesaurus.com
noun
1.
a person or thing that washes.
2.
washing machine.
3.
a flat ring or perforated piece of leather, rubber, metal, etc., used to give tightness to a joint, to prevent leakage, to distribute pressure, etc., as under the head of a nut or bolt.
Origin of washer
Middle English
1275-1325
1275-1325; Middle English; see wash, -er1
Related forms
washerless, adjective

wash

[wosh, wawsh] /wɒʃ, wɔʃ/
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 followed 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 followed 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 followed 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.
  1. to subject (earth or ore) to the action or force of water in order to separate valuable material.
  2. 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, especially 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 followed 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 followed 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.
  1. an upper surface so inclined as to shed rain water from a building.
  2. any member of a building having such a surface.
45.
Metalworking.. 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,
  1. to clean completely by washing:
    to wash down a car.
  2. 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,
  1. to be removed by washing:
    The stain wouldn't wash out.
  2. to damage or demolish by the action of water:
    The embankment was washed out by the storm.
  3. Informal. to fail to qualify or continue; be eliminated:
    to wash out of graduate school.
  4. to become dim, indistinct, or blurred:
    The face of the watch washes out in sunlight.
53.
wash up,
  1. to wash one's face and hands:
    Aren't you going to wash up? Dinner is almost ready.
  2. 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.
  3. to end, especially ignominiously (usually in the passive):
    After that performance, he's all washed up as a singer.
Idioms
54.
come out in the wash,
  1. 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.
  2. to be revealed; become known.
55.
wash one's hands of. hand (def 90).
Origin
before 900; Middle English washen (v.), Old English wascan (cognate with Dutch wasschen, German waschen, Old Norse vaska) < Germanic *watskan, equivalent to *wat- (root of water) + *-sk- v. suffix + *-an infinitive suffix
Related forms
prewash, noun, verb (used with object)
rewash, verb
underwash, verb
well-washed, adjective
Synonyms
See more synonyms on Thesaurus.com
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. 2016.
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Examples from the Web for washer
Historical Examples
British Dictionary definitions for washer

washer

/ˈwɒʃə/
noun
1.
a person or thing that washes
2.
a flat ring or drilled disc of metal used under the head of a bolt or nut to spread the load when tightened
3.
any flat ring of rubber, felt, metal, etc, used to provide a seal under a nut or in a tap or valve seat
4.
See washing machine
5.
(chemical engineering) a device for cleaning or washing gases or vapours; scrubber
6.
(Austral) a face cloth; flannel

wash

/wɒʃ/
verb
1.
to apply water or other liquid, usually with soap, to (oneself, clothes, etc) in order to cleanse
2.
(transitive; often foll by away, from, off, etc) to remove by the application of water or other liquid and usually soap: she washed the dirt from her clothes
3.
(intransitive) to be capable of being washed without damage or loss of colour
4.
(of an animal such as a cat) to cleanse (itself or another animal) by licking
5.
(transitive) to cleanse from pollution or defilement
6.
(transitive) to make wet or moist
7.
often foll by away, etc. to move or be moved by water: the flood washed away the bridge
8.
(esp of waves) to flow or sweep against or over (a surface or object), often with a lapping sound
9.
to form by erosion or be eroded: the stream washed a ravine in the hill
10.
(transitive) to apply a thin coating of paint, metal, etc, to
11.
(transitive) to separate (ore, precious stones, etc) from (gravel, earth, or sand) by immersion in water
12.
(intransitive; usually used with a negative) (informal, mainly Brit) to admit of testing or proof: your excuses won't wash with me this time
13.
wash one's hands
  1. (euphemistic) to go to the lavatory
  2. (usually foll by of) to refuse to have anything more to do (with)
noun
14.
the act or process of washing; ablution
15.
a quantity of articles washed together
16.
a preparation or thin liquid used as a coating or in washing: a thin wash of paint, a hair wash
17.
(med)
  1. any medicinal or soothing lotion for application to a part of the body
  2. (in combination): an eyewash
18.
the flow of water, esp waves, against a surface, or the sound made by such a flow
19.
  1. the technique of making wash drawings
  2. See wash drawing
20.
the erosion of soil by the action of flowing water
21.
a mass of alluvial material transported and deposited by flowing water
22.
land that is habitually washed by tidal or river waters
23.
the disturbance in the air or water produced at the rear of an aircraft, boat, or other moving object
24.
gravel, earth, etc, from which valuable minerals may be washed
25.
waste liquid matter or liquid refuse, esp as fed to pigs; swill
26.
an alcoholic liquid resembling strong beer, resulting from the fermentation of wort in the production of whisky
27.
(informal) come out in the wash, to become known or apparent in the course of time
See also wash down, wash out, wash up
Word Origin
Old English wæscan, waxan; related to Old High German wascan; see water

Wash

/wɒʃ/
noun
1.
the Wash, a shallow inlet of the North Sea on the E coast of England, between Lincolnshire and Norfolk
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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Word Origin and History for washer
n.

"flat ring for sealing joints or holding nuts," mid-14c., generally considered an agent noun of wash (v.), but the sense connection is difficult, and the noun may derive instead from the ancestor of French vis "screw, vise."

wash

v.

Old English wascan, wæscan, from Proto-Germanic *watskanan (cf. Old Norse vaska, Middle Dutch wasscen, Dutch wassen, German waschen), from stem *wat-, the source of water. Related: Washed; washing. Used mainly of clothes in Old English (the principal verb for washing the body, dishes, etc. being þwean). Washed-out "faded" is from 1837. Washed up is 1923 theater slang, from notion of washing up at the end of a job.

n.

late Old English wæsc "act of washing" (see wash (v.)). Meaning "clothes set aside to be washed" is attested from 1789; meaning "thin coat of paint" is recorded from 1690s; sense of "land alternately covered and exposed by the sea" is recorded from mid-15c.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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washer in Medicine

wash (wŏsh)
v. washed, wash·ing, wash·es

  1. To cleanse, using water or other liquid, usually with soap, detergent, or bleach, by immersing, dipping, rubbing, or scrubbing.

  2. To make moist or wet.

n.

  1. The act or process of cleansing or washing.

  2. A solution used to cleanse or bathe a part.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Slang definitions & phrases for washer

wash

noun

  1. A drink to follow another, to wash it down; chaser: What for a wash? (1950s+)
  2. An elaborate justification; whitewash: It looked like a wash to me (1950s+)
  3. A balance between opposing values, cases, effects, etc; a moot situation; standoff, a TOSSUP: The net effect of the medical testimony was a wash/ I'd have to go to bed at the same time as my 6-year-old. So it's pretty much a wash/ the Ferraro factor. Was it a political plus, a minus, a wash? (1870s+ Stock market)

verb

To prove acceptable; bear testing •Usually in the negative: Well, it just won't wash/ The stereotype of gay males as child molesters just doesn't wash any more/ That washes. I'll buy it (1849+)

Related Terms

hang out the wash, whitewash

[verb sense said to be fr a defective printed calico that could not be washed; third noun sense perhaps fr the notion that equal opposing elements wash each other out or away, or wipe the slate clean]

The Dictionary of American Slang, Fourth Edition by Barbara Ann Kipfer, PhD. and Robert L. Chapman, Ph.D.
Copyright (C) 2007 by HarperCollins Publishers.
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Idioms and Phrases with washer

wash

also see:
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Cite This Source

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