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• brush
  brush

  noun

  an implement consisting of bristles, hair, or the like, set in or attached to a handle, used for painting, cleaning, polishing, grooming, etc.
• Brush
  Brush

  noun

  Katharine, 1902–52, U.S. novelist and short-story writer.

brush

¹ American  

[bruhsh] / brʌʃ /

noun

1. an implement consisting of bristles, hair, or the like, set in or attached to a handle, used for painting, cleaning, polishing, grooming, etc.

2. 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.

3. the bushy tail of an animal, especially of a fox.

4. Electricity.

   1. 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.

   2. brush discharge.

5. a feathery or hairy tuft or tassel, as on the tip of a kernel of grain or on a man's hat.

6. an act or instance of brushing; application of a brush.

7. a light, stroking touch.

8. a brief conflict or fight; skirmish.

   He has already had one brush with the law.

   Synonyms:

   encounter, action, engagement

9. a close approach, especially to something undesirable or harmful.

   a brush with disaster.

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verb (used with object)

• brushes,
  present (3rd person singular)
• brushed,
  past participle,  past
• brushing
  present participle

1. to sweep, paint, clean, polish, etc., with a brush.

2. to touch lightly in passing; pass lightly over.

   His lips brushed her ear.

3. to remove by brushing or by lightly passing over.

   His hand brushed a speck of lint from his coat.

verb (used without object)

• brushes,
  present (3rd person singular)
• brushed,
  past participle,  past
• brushing
  present participle

1. to move or skim with a slight contact.

verb phrase

1. brush up on to revive, review, or resume (studies, a skill, etc.): Also brush up.

   She's thinking of brushing up on her tennis.

2. brush off to rebuff; send away.

   She had never been brushed off so rudely before.

3. brush aside to disregard; ignore.

   Our complaints were simply brushed aside.

idioms

1. get the brush, to be rejected or rebuffed.

   She greeted Jim effusively, but I got the brush.

2. give the brush, to ignore, rebuff, etc..

   If you're still angry with him, give him the brush.

brush ² American  

[bruhsh] / brʌʃ /

noun

1. a dense growth of bushes, shrubs, etc.; scrub; thicket.

2. a pile or covering of lopped or broken branches; brushwood.

3. bushes and low trees growing in thick profusion, especially close to the ground.

4. Also called brushland.  land or an area covered with thickly growing bushes and low trees.

5. backwoods; a sparsely settled wooded region.

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Brush ³ American  

[bruhsh] / brʌʃ /

noun

1. Katharine, 1902–52, U.S. novelist and short-story writer.

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brush ¹ British  

/ brʌʃ /

noun

1. 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

2. the act or an instance of brushing

3. a light stroke made in passing; graze

4. a brief encounter or contact, esp an unfriendly one; skirmish

5. the bushy tail of a fox, often kept as a trophy after a hunt, or of certain breeds of dog

6. an electric conductor, esp one made of carbon, that conveys current between stationary and rotating parts of a generator, motor, etc

7. a dark brush-shaped region observed when a biaxial crystal is viewed through a microscope, caused by interference between beams of polarized light

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verb

1. (tr) to clean, polish, scrub, paint, etc, with a brush

2. (tr) to apply or remove with a brush or brushing movement

   brush the crumbs off the table

3. (tr) to touch lightly and briefly

4. (intr) to move so as to graze or touch something lightly

brush ² British  

/ brʌʃ /

noun

1. a thick growth of shrubs and small trees; scrub

2. land covered with scrub

3. broken or cut branches or twigs; brushwood

4. wooded sparsely populated country; backwoods

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brush More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing brush

• give someone the air (brush off)
• have a brush with
• tarred with the same brush

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Usage

What are other ways to say brush? A brush is a brief encounter or skirmish. How does brush compare to struggle and clash? Find out on Thesaurus.com. 

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• brusher
  noun
• brushiness
  noun
• brushable
  adjective
• brushlike
  adjective
• unbrushable
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• brushing
  present
• brushed
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• brush
  simple
• brushes
  simple
• have brushed
  perfect
• has brushed
  perfect
• am brushing
  progressive
• are brushing
  progressive
• is brushing
  progressive
• have been brushing
  perfect progressive
• has been brushing
  perfect progressive

Past

• brushed
  simple
• had brushed
  perfect
• was brushing
  progressive
• were brushing
  progressive
• had been brushing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will brush
  simple
• will have brushed
  perfect
• will be brushing
  progressive
• will have been brushing
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of brush¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English noun brushe, broche, brosc, probably to be identified with brush ², if the original sense was “implement made from twigs, etc., culled from brushwood”; Middle English verb brushen “to hasten, rush,” probably from Old French brosser “to travel (through brush),” derivative of broce ( brush ² )

Origin of brush²

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English brushe, bro(c)che “brushwood, thicket”; from Middle French broisse, Old French broce “underbrush” (compare Anglo-French brousson “wood,” brusseie “heath”), perhaps from unattested Vulgar Latin bruscia “excrescences,” derivative of Latin bruscum “knot or excrescence on a maple tree”; cf. brush ¹ ( def. )

Explanation

Use the noun brush when you want to refer to a quick, light touch. If you are comforting someone you don't know well, you can give their arm a quick brush to show sympathy. The noun brush can refer to a thick growth of scrub vegetation. You'll have to clear away the brush if you want to plant a garden there. As a verb, brush can mean to sweep, either literally or metaphorically. You can brush the dirt from the floor, but you can't just brush away your past misdeeds. The verb also means to touch lightly. If you are baking and you brush your hand across your cheek, chances are you'll leave a trail of flour there.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

brush Brush brushes brushed brushing

And is he financially literate, or does he need to brush up on the basics, too?

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 21, 2026

The cargo is typically loaded into box trucks, or hidden in nearby brush until the trucks arrive.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 19, 2026

But he ultimately answers to the country’s autocratic supreme leader, who can afford to brush off at least some amount of public unhappiness.

From Slate ● Aug. 17, 2026

Melt the remaining tablespoon butter and brush over the tops.

From Salon ● Aug. 16, 2026

Next moment I heard something big lumbering through the brush.

From "Rump: The (Fairly) True Story of Rumpelstilskin" by Liesl Shurtliff

You’re probably getting the message by now: Brush up on all the restrictions before clicking “buy,” especially if you’re booking several tickets.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026

Among the highest-priced lots were paintings featuring The Clangers and Noggin the Nog, while a signed Basil Brush artwork, showing the cheerful fox chatting to a mole, sold for £6,000.

From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026

Brush has suggested AAT in his stock newsletter, Brush Up on Stocks.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 8, 2026

Don’t know your ‘jumping hours’ from your ‘world timers’? Brush up with this cheat sheet.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 11, 2026

I had saved my biggest valentine—the one we were supposed to take home to our mothers—and gave it to my teacher, Mrs. Brush.

From "Three Little Words: A Memoir" by Ashley Rhodes-Courter

After collecting the cells, the team removes the material from the brushes and uses forensic-level, next-generation sequencing technologies to isolate and amplify genetic sequences.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 11, 2026

Daniele Garner brushes a yak at the Pettee Ranch.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 8, 2026

Speaking from their home in Tuscaloosa, Ala., apart from Weaver, Allman brushes off such criticism.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 28, 2026

Tommy, who used acrylic paint and a mixture of brushes and sponges to achieve different textures, said: 'I just wanted to make something colourful, plus feet are easier to draw than faces!

From BBC ● Jun. 18, 2026

My father considers this an irrelevant question and brushes it off, saying, "Not that I know of, but that's not the point."

From "Me Talk Pretty One Day" by David Sedaris

Ackman, with Israel, brushed aside worries around a stablecoin threat, saying crypto is growing in places where cards aren’t incumbent.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 13, 2026

One theory is that officers initially assumed it was just another episode and brushed it off.

From Slate ● Aug. 11, 2026

I melted the butter and miso together until fragrant and faintly nutty, then brushed it over sourdough and baked the slices until deeply golden.

From Salon ● Aug. 1, 2026

Brown-Forman and Wolf Pen Branch, a collection of Brown family members who own the majority of Class A shares, issued a joint statement that brushed off Sazerac’s unsolicited proposal.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 2026

He brushed his teeth and walked to the end of the hall, where the last room was marked with a little metal anchor.

From "The Way to Rio Luna" by Zoraida Cordova

Ten tackles a game last season became as routine as brushing his teeth.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 17, 2026

You can also practise standing on one leg, for example while brushing your teeth.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 16, 2026

After initially brushing off LLMs, DeepMind was developing its own chatbots.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 15, 2026

There, Chip stands in front of the cheese case for a moment, brushing past the string cheese and the Parmesan shakers before settling on a packet of American singles.

From Salon ● Jun. 30, 2026

I eased forward, brushing aside the sunflower plants.

From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros

Related Words

• caress
• flick
• kiss
• scrape
• shave
• skim
• smooth
• sweep