Jump To:

• 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.

---

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.

---

Brush ³ American  

[bruhsh] / brʌʃ /

noun

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

---

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

---

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

---

brush More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing brush

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

---

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

Moth swarms so thick they can blot out the stars are fluttering across Australia, heralding a migratory spectacle unseen since the creature's brush with extinction nearly 10 years ago.

From Barron's ● Oct. 2, 2026

She said she just wanted to "brush it under the carpet".

From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026

The railroads responded by fitting spark arresters to their engines and clearing brush along the tracks.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 30, 2026

She first picked up a brush as a married mother of three in her thirties, and only after her father’s death.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 21, 2026

I resist the urge to brush the hair that’s flopped over his forehead out of his eyes.

From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam

Appeared in the September 11, 2026, print edition as 'Sept. 11 and Our Brush With Indivisibility'.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026

Brush clearance is required nationwide, but local fire departments rarely pester property owners.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 30, 2026

The artist and puppet maker co-created characters including Bagpuss, The Clangers, Noggin the Nog, Ivor the Engine and Basil Brush, with fellow creator Oliver Postgate.

From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026

During the past several years, Brush has suggested KO, UTZ and HSY in his stock newsletter, Brush Up on Stocks.

From MarketWatch ● Feb. 7, 2026

Brush stroke by brush stroke, Mango appears, perched on Grandpa’s right shoulder.

From "A Mango-Shaped Space" by Wendy Mass

After so long on the road, driving past despair dotted along the road’s shoulders, Day brushes off a cry for help with a joke.

From Salon ● Aug. 24, 2026

"Cytology brushes can be used when dry and do an excellent job of harvesting cellular material without damaging the integrity of the artifact being sampled," says Breen.

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

She brushes my hair back from my forehead.

From "The Manifestor Prophecy" by Angie Thomas

And yet, Anderson’s “Resident Evil” has always been the butt of the joke, brushed off largely because his movies dared to be different when people wanted more of the same.

From Salon ● Sep. 23, 2026

And, most recently, Taylor Fritz was brushed aside by Jannik Sinner in straight sets at the 2024 U.S.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 13, 2026

For decades, testosterone deficiency was overlooked and under-researched, and, for many men, symptoms were brushed off as natural signs of aging.

From Slate ● Sep. 13, 2026

Hawaii is still recovering from the impacts of Hurricane Lala, which brushed past the southern part of the Big Island last month, bringing destructive winds and severe flash floods.

From Barron's ● Sep. 2, 2026

He tried to offer her more water, but she brushed it away.

From "Impossible Creatures" by Katherine Rundell

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

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 17, 2026

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

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 15, 2026

Brown-Forman and a group of Brown family shareholders issued a joint statement brushing off Sazerac’s unsolicited proposal.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 2026

These included repeated brushing, chewing forces, and contact with acidic foods that can gradually dissolve enamel.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 23, 2026

Jessica went past me quickly, her hair practically brushing my face.

From "Firegirl" by Tony Abbott

Related Words

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