hand-washing
Americannoun
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the act or activity of laundering something by hand.
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the act or activity of washing one’s hands.
Etymology
Origin of hand-washing
First recorded in 1790–95; hand ( def. ) + washing ( def. )
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.
The FDA made recommendations, including that Taylor improve hand-washing procedures and encourage ill employees to submit stool samples for analysis to help determine the region’s risk for cyclospora.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 18, 2026
Strict hygiene instructions, including vigorous hand-washing, were followed, at all times.
From BBC ● Jun. 27, 2025
Since then, according to Task Force 51, the military has contracted “for sleeping tents, latrines, showers, hand-washing stations, hot meals for breakfast, dinner and a late-night meal, and full laundry service.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 24, 2025
CBS News reported that last month, inspectors found what appeared to be mold and mildew around the hand-washing sinks used by workers preparing ready-to-eat meats.
From Salon ● Aug. 29, 2024
These tough ratings sat up in bed darning their socks, and insisted on hand-washing their own smalls, which they dried on washing lines improvised from string, suspended along the radiators.
From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan
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.
