- present participle of wash.
washing
Americannoun
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the act of a person or thing that washes; ablution.
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clothes, linens, etc., washed or to be washed, especially those washed at one time; wash.
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Often washings any liquid that has been used to wash something.
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matter removed or carried off in washing something or by the force of water.
The washings from numerous spring floods had clogged the mouth of the river.
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Mining.
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material, as gold dust, obtained by washing earth, gravel, etc.
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the deposits so washed.
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Metalworking. wash.
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the act of making a wash sale.
noun
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articles that have been or are to be washed together on a single occasion
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liquid in which an article has been washed
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something, such as gold dust or metal ore, that has been obtained by washing
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a thin coat of something applied in liquid form
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of washing
First recorded in 1175–1225, washing is from the Middle English word wasschunge. See wash, -ing 1
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.
Households are being asked to use watering cans or buckets for activities such as watering gardens, filling paddling pools or washing cars.
From BBC • Jul. 3, 2026
“We were basically homesteading the first 12 years. For the longest time, we didn’t have plumbing. We were using outhouses and washing dishes in the lake,” he admitted.
From MarketWatch • Jul. 1, 2026
A year later, after a stint as a food-delivery driver, he and his girlfriend started washing cars for $20 apiece, armed with buckets, a hose and soap, before raising their prices and buying more equipment.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 30, 2026
Residents had laid out mattresses, washing machines, wooden furniture, and other salvaged household items.
From Barron's • Jun. 29, 2026
“This has washing instructions. If you throw these in the machine, I will think differently of you. But if you don’t wear them, you will hurt my feelings.”
From "Bye Forever, I Guess" by Jodi Meadows
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.
