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)

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)

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

• brushable adjective
• brusher noun
• brushiness noun
• brushlike adjective
• unbrushable adjective

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”; brush ¹ ( def. )

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

As Brennan and his team left the airport in a convoy of Toyota SUVs, the rubble and wreckage from years of war marked the landscape of sand, brush and sheep herds.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 15, 2026

The once-famous dark mane has gone white and is neatly cropped and the bushy mustache is now just a brush of hair below his nose.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 12, 2026

Pick up a sweeping brush, even if no one asked you to.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 30, 2026

Across multiple trials, Veronika consistently chose specific parts of the brush depending on where she wanted to scratch.

From Science Daily • Mar. 26, 2026

I feel my bare toes brush against canvas.

From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller

Related Words

• caress
• flick
• kiss
• scrape
• shave
• skim
• smooth
• sweep