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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

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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. )

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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

That ended Shearer's brief brush with management and he returned to punditry, spending his weekends travelling between Newcastle and Salford for Match of the Day.

From BBC ● Oct. 31, 2026

The firm also advised AMC Entertainment during the movie-theater chain’s near brush with bankruptcy during the height of Covid-19.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 28, 2026

It was easy to brush aside the question.

From Slate ● Oct. 28, 2026

Right now, such brush clearance is handled by Pasadena Parks and Recreation, which has funding to perform it for only part of the year, he said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 26, 2026

Then he touched the rock again, a quick brush of his forefinger.

From "Found" by Margaret Peterson Haddix

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

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

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 11, 2026

Marsden had a "penchant for different architectural styles", Richardson said, where he had done something similar at a property in Merseyside coined "the Brush Castle".

From BBC ● Apr. 7, 2026

Brush, liquid polish, brash, paste wax, shine rag, lacquer sole dressing . . . step by step, Freddie showed me what to do.

From "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" by Alex Malcolm X;Hailey

The case marks the latest legal challenge for Peters, whose internet notoriety crossed into the mainstream after previous brushes with the law.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 22, 2026

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

When we wonder about his Ukrainian surname, he brushes that off as irrelevant.

From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026

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

We picked out a spot around the back of the house and dipped our brushes.

From "Root Magic" by Eden Royce

"So I went to the doctors and they literally just brushed it off and were like, 'no, we don't think you've got PCOS'," she said.

From BBC ● Oct. 21, 2026

Some, like EV and hybrid giant BYD, have brushed off any American plans for now.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026

The S&P 500 was trading only marginally below its record highs on Friday, as stocks brushed off early weakness to mount a late-day comeback.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 27, 2026

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

He did some homework at the kitchen table underneath a single lamp, and when it was time, he brushed his teeth, got into his pajamas, and went back to his mom’s bedroom door.

From "Chronicles of a Lizard Nobody" by Patrick Ness

All 339 Olympic events: The next Olympics is still a couple years away, but it’s not too early to start brushing up on your knowledge of the Summer Games.

From Slate ● Oct. 9, 2026

Dyson this week unveiled an AI-powered toothbrush that it says provides a complete brushing, precision-flossing and mouth-rinsing routine at once.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 2026

Moments after Manchester City had put down their first heavyweight marker of the post-Pep Guardiola era by brushing aside Crystal Palace, he was asked live on TV how much he enjoyed the game.

From BBC ● Aug. 28, 2026

“I don’t go that deep,” he says, brushing it aside when asked whether there are certain questions he’s trying to answer about being human.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026

I asked, brushing my hands over the intricate patterns.

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

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Related Words

• caress
• flick
• kiss
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• shave
• skim
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• sweep

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