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car wash

American  
Or carwash

noun

  • car washes
    plural
  1. a place or structure having special equipment for washing automobiles.

  2. the washing of an automobile.

    The service station is offering free car washes to draw customers.


Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

Etymology

Origin of car wash

First recorded in 1955–60

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:

Her client, who was grabbed by immigration agents at a car wash last August, was seeking asylum because of the violence endemic in his region of Mexico.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 3, 2026

Microsoft’s new data center in Wisconsin will use about only four Olympic swimming pools of water this year, half as much as a car wash.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 31, 2026

Photographs show buildings on the compound included a clinic and a car wash.

From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026

She’s looking for work as a cook after being laid off from a car wash in January.

From Salon ● Apr. 9, 2026

Rather than go to the car wash, they can call Tony Lancaster, who comes around in his van and brings the water, too.

From "Class Matters" by The New York Times

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