to clean something or yourself with water, usually with soap
Please wash your hands before dinner.
I need to wash the car this weekend.
✦ Old English ‘wæscan’, related to German ‘waschen’, from Proto-Germanic roots meaning ‘to clean with water’.
(of water) to flow over or against something
Waves wash against the rocks below the cliff.
At high tide, seawater washes over the road.
✦ Same Germanic root as the cleaning sense, extended metaphorically to moving water.
a liquid soap or gel used for washing the hands.
She applied some handwash before dinner.
The handwash in this restaurant smells amazing.
✦ Mid 20th century: from hand + wash.
the action or process of washing something by hand rather than in a machine.
The label says handwash only.
I do handwash for my silk scarves.
wash clothes or other items by hand, rather than in a washing machine.
Always handwash delicate lingerie.
I handwash my baby's clothes.
✦ Late 19th century: from hand + wash.
