washcloth
Americannoun
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washcloths
plural
noun
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another name for dishcloth
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Also called (in Britain and certain other countries): face cloth. flannel. a small piece of cloth used to wash the face and hands
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of washcloth
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:
Less than a day after an exhausting six-and-a-half hour, 18-inning victory over the Toronto Blue Jays, the Dodgers curled up in the corner with a cold washcloth while the Jays smothered them with it.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 28, 2025
“Because there’s so much virus in the blood, you don’t necessarily see blood on a towel or washcloth or toothbrush or razor or nail clipper,” he says.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 3, 2025
Washcloths are particularly controversial: “People get really riled up, like, ‘Washcloths are harbingers of bacteria,’ and ‘If you don’t use a washcloth, you’re dirty.’
From Slate ● Nov. 2, 2024
You can buy an ice roller for your face, or even just use a paper towel or washcloth.
From National Geographic ● Feb. 21, 2024
My mom wets a washcloth and wipes down my face and hands.
From "Internment" by Samira Ahmed
They also say that, beyond maternal transmission, the virus is often spread through shared surfaces such as washcloths and toothbrushes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 5, 2025
I was sick all day Sunday, ministered to by my girlfriend, who fed me chicken soup and bathed my head with wet washcloths.
From Salon ● Aug. 5, 2023
Even the most beautiful, spa-like bathroom can be defeated by a common foe: the clutter created by bottles, soaps, washcloths, toothbrushes, cosmetics and other toiletries left out on every available surface.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 29, 2022
Write down what you need, whether that’s washcloths, hand towels, bath towels or bath sheets.
From Washington Post ● Jun. 7, 2022
To her ways of doing things — the way she rolled up the washcloths, the way she dusted with a feather duster.
From "Typical American" by Gish Jen
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.
