shampoo
Americanverb (used with object)
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shampoos,
present (3rd person singular)
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shampooed,
past participle, past
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shampooing
present participle
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to wash (the head or hair), especially with a cleaning preparation that does not leave a soap film.
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to clean (rugs, upholstery, or the like) with a special preparation.
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Archaic. to massage.
noun
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shampoos
plural
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the act of shampooing.
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a preparation used for shampooing, especially one that does not leave a soap film.
noun
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a liquid or cream preparation of soap or detergent to wash the hair
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a similar preparation for washing carpets, etc
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the process of shampooing
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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shampoosimple
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shampoossimple
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have shampooedperfect
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has shampooedperfect
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am shampooingprogressive
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are shampooingprogressive
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is shampooingprogressive
-
have been shampooingperfect progressive
-
has been shampooingperfect progressive
Past
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shampooedsimple
-
had shampooedperfect
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was shampooingprogressive
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were shampooingprogressive
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had been shampooingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of shampoo
1755–65; earlier champo to massage < an inflected form of Hindi cāmpnā literally, to press
Explanation
Got dirty hair? Get yourself some shampoo and jump in the shower! Shampoo is soap made especially for washing hair. Use shampoo for the liquid soap itself, or for the act of using it: "I don't have time for a shampoo, so I'll wear my favorite cowboy hat." It's also a verb: "I love the way my hair smells after I shampoo it!" You can also shampoo a carpet—or a dog. Shampoo originally meant "to massage," stemming from a Hindi root, champo, "press or knead muscles."
Vocabulary lists containing shampoo
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:
Parada Calderon said his family sends him about $100 per month to spend on commissary items, which he spends on packets of crackers, coffee, soups, soap, shampoo, deodorant and chips.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 1, 2026
Soon I was using prescription shampoo, two topical serums, monthly steroid scalp injections, and a pricey red-light therapy cap that made me look like an alien.
From Slate ● May 23, 2026
A bottle of shampoo, cold medicine, a bouquet, a midnight snack, or even diapers can now arrive at an apartment door in roughly the time it takes to watch a sitcom.
From Barron's ● May 23, 2026
"He was giving me cuddles when I put shampoo in his hair."
From BBC ● May 6, 2026
Gigi smelled the same, like green tea and flowery shampoo.
From "Ivy Aberdeen’s Letter to the World" by Ashley Herring Blake
That leaves Unilever to focus on brands including Dove personal-care products, Nexxus shampoos and Olly vitamins.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 28, 2026
Companies that made the cosmetics, shampoos, and other beauty products sold to teens and tweens, though?
From Slate ● Oct. 1, 2025
Aluminium can manufacturer Ball, which already offers recyclable aluminium packaging for shampoos and lotions, has invested in Meadow and will offer the system to the big personal care brands it works with.
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2025
Previously, the researchers determined that VFD's intense micromixing could produce clean biodiesel from used cooking oil and homogenize raw milk, but they hadn't used the platform to process more goopy liquids, such as shampoos.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 11, 2024
Mom unzips her cosmetics bag in the bathroom, lining her preferred shampoos and conditioners along the edge of the bathtub, her skin creams and cleansing tonics across the counter.
From "The Sea in Winter" by Christine Day
In the People story, Steve Doocy, 68, joked that his son had actually been hit by “a stork” and that George had arrived shortly after his son shampooed out any bird goo.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 24, 2025
Is it applied to the scalp prior to shampooing for a number of minutes, then shampooed out?
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 21, 2022
“They shampooed my hair, and boy, I felt like a million bucks, for about 20 minutes. Then I was ready to go lay down again.”
From Washington Times ● Oct. 20, 2018
If a light bulb is out or the carpet needs to be shampooed, she puts in a work order.
From New York Times ● Feb. 23, 2017
I shampooed and brushed, shampooed and combed until my scalp throbbed.
From "The Old Willis Place" by Mary Downing Hahn
Aside from the occasional subconscious scritch-scratch or vigorous shampooing, it’s kind of just … there.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 21, 2024
If your hair or scalp are dry, you might limit shampooing to once or twice a week, Garshick added.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 23, 2023
There are many examples of companies creating problems they then solve, from the marketing of cosmetics to the origin of women's razors to how shampooing more frequently came about.
From Salon ● Jun. 7, 2022
And an à la carte menu of add-on services, like shampooing or blow-drying, so there was no hiding the ball on what you were getting or what you’d pay for it.
From Slate ● Jul. 13, 2021
“Right now, I have some shampooing of my own to attend to.”
From "The Hidden Gallery" by Maryrose Wood
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.
