car wash
Americannoun
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a place or structure having special equipment for washing automobiles.
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the washing of an automobile.
The service station is offering free car washes to draw customers.
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.
One is a wholesale business in Newcastle upon Tyne, the other is a car wash in Cambridgeshire.
From BBC • May 18, 2026
She’s looking for work as a cook after being laid off from a car wash in January.
From Salon • Apr. 9, 2026
The Arby’s employee noticed Cynthia’s Fiero parked at a car wash across the street from about 9 to 11:45 that night, hours after the stripogram was supposed to end.
From Slate • Apr. 6, 2026
Now, the 37-year-old's car wash business is also due for demolition.
From Barron's • Nov. 25, 2025
When the car wash started, I thought I’d have a minute to lose myself in the loud darkness of it all.
From "Please Ignore Vera Dietz" by A.S. King
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.
