- present participle of wash.
washing
Americannoun
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the act of a person or thing that washes; ablution.
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clothes, linens, etc., washed or to be washed, especially those washed at one time; wash.
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Often washings any liquid that has been used to wash something.
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matter removed or carried off in washing something or by the force of water.
The washings from numerous spring floods had clogged the mouth of the river.
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Mining.
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material, as gold dust, obtained by washing earth, gravel, etc.
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the deposits so washed.
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Metalworking. wash.
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the act of making a wash sale.
noun
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articles that have been or are to be washed together on a single occasion
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liquid in which an article has been washed
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something, such as gold dust or metal ore, that has been obtained by washing
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a thin coat of something applied in liquid form
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of washing
First recorded in 1175–1225, washing is from the Middle English word wasschunge. See wash, -ing 1
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Practicing proper hand washing and washing all fresh produce under clean running water are also key, although they don’t eliminate the risk of contamination completely.
From Salon ● Jul. 20, 2026
At the booth for Suzhou-based UniX AI, a $44,000 robot completed household tasks, such as making the bed, putting laundry in the washing machine and doing the dishes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026
"That restorative sleep is super important for physical repair, learning and memory and washing out the toxins of the day," Macauley said.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 20, 2026
The project also would need 6,500 acre-feet of fresh water annually for washing the mineral and cooling.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 2026
But when Calista was in the bathroom washing her tears off, I snuck out of the apartment and down the elevator and outside to the bodega.
From Absolutely Almost by Lisa Graff
When they couldn’t identify any known cold virus, they inoculated adult volunteers with extracts from the nasal washings to confirm that something in the samples caused colds.
From Science Magazine ● Jan. 11, 2024
The legs on Raggedy Ann dolls are made of red and white-striped fabric, which will bleed when it gets wet from tears or attempted washings — better to replace them with new fabric.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2023
Do not let the stained fabric dry out between washings!
From Salon ● Jul. 8, 2022
The best options are simple to open, a breeze to clean and hardy enough to stand up to repeated washings.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 23, 2020
The cotton had been worn soft from dozens of wearings and washings.
From "Stella by Starlight" by Sharon M. Draper
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
