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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:

He installed himself courtside, the Windows Clippy among the die-hards, leaping from his seat after dunks and wiggling like one of those inflatable tubes at a car wash.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 3, 2026

Customs and Border Patrol detained at the Santa Ana car wash that day.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 14, 2026

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

Finally we found an empty do-it-yourself car wash.

From "The Lightning Thief" by Rick Riordan

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