douche
Americannoun
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a jet or current of water, sometimes with a dissolved medicating or cleansing agent, applied to a body part, organ, or cavity for medicinal or hygienic purposes.
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the application of such a jet.
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an instrument, as a syringe, for administering it.
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a bath administered by such a jet.
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Slang: Vulgar. douchebag.
verb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
noun
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a stream of water or air directed onto the body surface or into a body cavity, for cleansing or medical purposes
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the application of such a stream of water or air
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an instrument, such as a special syringe, for applying a douche
verb
Other Word Forms
- undouched adjective
Etymology
Origin of douche
First recorded in 1675–85; from French, from Italian doccia “water pipe,” back formation from doccione “drainpipe” (where -one was interpreted as an augmentative suffix), from Latin ductiōn- (stem of ductiō ) “drawing off, conveying (water),” equivalent to duct(us), past participle of dūcere “to draw along” + -iōn- noun suffix; ductile, -ion
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.
Black women also reported higher use of feminine hygiene products, like douches, which have been linked with higher levels of ortho-phthalates.
From Seattle Times
His small posse of men was known on campus as "the douche crew."
From Salon
“Vaginal pH is maintained by lactobacilli. Soaps, cleansers and douches will only hurt this bacteria, so they are all bad pH-wise,” Gunter wrote in a recent New York Times piece.
From The Guardian
Recommendations to douche in the name of cleanliness were replaced with warnings about the dangers of douching, which is now widely discouraged.
From Washington Post
From the sublime, to the sanitary: fans and players alike have been awed by Japan's incredibly high-tech toilets, which are known to flummox foreigners with their array of douches and drying options.
From BBC
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.
