brush
UK/bɹʌʃ/
More pronunciations (1)Fewer pronunciations
Australia/bɹɐʃ/
brush noun: an implement consisting of multiple more or less flexible bristles or other filaments attached to a handle, used for any of various purposes including cleaning, painting, and arranging hair.
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Noun
brush (countable and uncountable, plural brushes)
- An implement consisting of multiple more or less flexible bristles or other filaments attached to a handle, used for any of various purposes including cleaning, painting, and arranging hair.
- The act of brushing something.
- She gave her hair a quick brush.
- as leaves
Do on the oak, have with one winter's brush
Fell from their boughsc. 1605–1608 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Life of Tymon of Athens”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and...
- A piece of conductive material, usually carbon, serving to maintain electrical contact between the stationary and rotating parts of a machine.
- A brush-like electrical discharge of sparks.
- If there was a sharp point nearby, electricity would stream from it in a luminous brush, a little corposant, and one could blow out candles with the outstreaming “electric wind,” or even get this to turn a little rotor on its pivot.2001, Oliver Sacks, Uncle Tungsten: Memories of a Chemical Boyhood
- Synonyms:
- corposant
- Wild vegetation, generally larger than grass but smaller than trees. See shrubland.
- We broke away toward the north, the tribe howling on our track. Across the open spaces we gained, and in the brush they caught up with us, and more than once it was nip and tuck.1906, Jack London, Before Adam, chapter 12
- One typical Grecian kiln engorged one thousand muleloads of juniper wood in a single burn. Fifty such kilns would devour six thousand metric tons of trees and brush annually.2006, Edwin Black, chapter 2, in Internal Combustion
- A short, possibly recurrent encounter or experience.
- brush with death
- He has had brushes with communism from time to time.
- The furry tail of an animal, especially of a fox.
- it is curious to remark that a fox, when pleased, expresses his pleasure by wagging his brush, as a dog wags his tail.1866, Francis Trevelyan Buckland, Curiosities of Natural History
- They burned the old gun that used to stand in the dark corner up in the garret, close to the stuffed fox that always grinned so fiercely. Perhaps the reason why he seemed in such a ghastly rage was that he did not come by his death fairly. Otherwise his pelt would not have been so perfect. And why...1879, R[ichard] J[efferies], chapter 1, in The Amateur Poacher, London: Smith, Elder, & Co., […], →OCLC
- A tuft of hair on the mandibles.
- A short contest, or trial, of speed.
- Mark and Lord Lufton had been boys together, and his lordship knew that Mark in his heart would enjoy a brush across the country quite as well as he himself.1860, Anthony Trollope, Framley Parsonage (originally published in Cornhill Magazine
- […] got into a brush with a fast British cutter as they approached Cowes […]1950, Think, volumes 16-17, page 34
- An instrument, resembling a brush, used to produce a soft sound from drums or cymbals.
- An on-screen tool for "painting" a particular colour or texture.
- Your bitmap image appears along the painted stroke. If you'd like to permanently create a custom sprite brush, it's fairly easy to adapt an existing MEL file[…].2007, Lee Lanier, Maya Professional Tips and Techniques, page 12
- A set of defined design and parameters that produce drawn strokes of a certain texture and quality.
- to download brushes for Photoshop
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- In 3D video games, a convex polyhedron, especially one that defines structure of the play area.
- The floorperson of a poker room, usually in a casino.
- Evergreen boughs, especially balsam, locally cut and baled for export, usually for use in making wreaths.
Verb
brush (third-person singular simple present brushes, present participle brushing, simple past and past participle brushed)
- To clean with a brush.
- Brush your teeth.
- To untangle or arrange with a brush.
- Brush your hair.
- To apply with a brush.
- I am brushing the paint onto the walls.
- To remove with a sweeping motion.
- She brushed the flour off my clothes.
- Caliban: As wicked dew as e'er my mother brush'd / With raven's feather from unwholesome fen / Drop on you both![…]1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tempest”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published...
- To touch with a sweeping motion, or lightly in passing.
- Her scarf brushed his skin.
- Some spread their sails, some with strong oars sweep / The waters smooth, and brush the buxom wave.1600, [Torquato Tasso], “(please specify |book=1 to 20)”, in Edward Fairefax [i.e., Edward Fairfax], transl., Godfrey of Bulloigne, or The Recouerie of Ierusalem. […], London: […] Ar[nold] Hatfield...
- To clean one's teeth by brushing them.
- Of course, Halloween does not have to be completely treatless. Plain chocolate candy is okay, provided you remember to brush afterwards.2000, USA Today, volume 129, numbers 2662-2673, page 92
Proper noun capitalized: Brush
Brush (plural Brushes)
- A surname.
brush meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Urdu and Bengali
brush in Hindi
- implement
- ब्रश braś, बुरुश buruś, झाड़ू jhāṛū
brush in Tamil
- தேய், துலக்கு, தூரிகை
brush in Urdu
- implement
- برش braś
brush in Bengali
- implement
- ব্রাশ braś
More languagesFewer languages
- brush in Telugu
- కుంచె kuñce
- brush in Malayalam
- ബ്രഷ് braṣŭ, തേക്കുക tēkkuka, ഉരസുക urasuka
- brush in Kannada
- ಒರಸು
- brush in Gujarati
- બ્રશ braś
- brush in Assamese
- তুলি tuli, বুৰুজ buruz, ব্ৰাচ bras
- brush in Nepali
- माझ्नु mājhnu
- brush in Tagalog
- sipilyo, pinsel
- brush in Arabic
- فُرْشَاة furšāh, فَرَشَ faraša, مَشَّطَ maššaṭa
- brush in Malay
- berus, memberus, menyikat
- brush in Indonesian
- sikat, menyikat
- brush in Persian
- برس boros, شت šot, فرچه ferče
- brush in Thai
- แปรง bprɛɛng
- brush in Vietnamese
- bàn chải, cọ, bút lông
- brush in Myanmar
- ဝက်မှင်ဘီး wakhmangbhi:, စုတ် cut
Examples of brush in a sentence
- The brush with death strengthened his determination to become a priest and he entered a Jesuit seminary soon afterwards.2025 April 21, Peter Stanford, “Pope Francis obituary”, in The Guardian:
- And why else was he put away up there out of sight?—and so magnificent a brush as he had too.1879, R[ichard] J[efferies], chapter 1, in The Amateur Poacher, London: Smith, Elder, & Co., […], →OCLC:
- Brushed with the hiss of rustling wings.1667, John Milton, “Book I”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert...
- Maybe you will find a love that you discover accidentally, who falls against you gently as a pickpocket brushes your thigh.1990 October 28, Paul Simon, “Further to Fly”, in The Rhythm of the Saints, Warner Bros.:
Synonyms of brush
Forms of brush
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | brushes |
| Verb | |
| third-person singular present | brushes |
| present participle | brushing |
| past participle | brushed |
| past | brushed |
| Proper noun | |
| plural | Brushes |
Origin of brush
From Middle English brusshe, from Old French broisse (Modern French brosse), from Vulgar Latin *brustia, from Frankish *bursti, from Proto-Germanic *burstiz (“bristle”), or also Vulgar Latin *bruscia, from Proto-Germanic *bruskaz (“tuft, thicket, underbrush”), which could be from Proto-Indo-European *bʰrusgo-.
Words formed from brush
- brushite
- Brushton
- airbrush
- air-brush
- air brush
- antelope brush
- as daft as a brush
- badgerbrush
- bath-brush
- bean-brush
- beard brush
- beebrush
- bitterbrush
- bog brush
- bottle brush
- bottlebrush
- bristle brush
- broad-brush
- broad brush
- brushability
- brush away
- brushbar
- brush blade
- brush border
- brushbot
- brush bow
- brush bronzewing
- brush coral
- brush cuckoo
- brush cut
- brushcutter
- brush-down
- brush fence
- brushfinch
- brush fire
- brushfire
- brush-fire
- brush-footed butterfly
- brushful
- brush-furred mouse
- brush hook
- brushland
- brushless
- brushlike
- brushmaker
- brushmaking
- brush-making
- brushman
- brushmark
- brush one's teeth
- brush past
- brush pen
- brush-pen
- brushproof
- brush rabbit
- brush something under the rug
- brushstroke
- brushtail
- brush-tailed
- brush-tailed mouse
Phrases with brush
- brush by
- brush up
- bee brush
- brush off
- brush out
- gun brush
- red brush
- brush back
- brush bows
- brush cuts
- brush down
- brush head
87 more phrasesFewer phrases
- brush offs
- brush over
- brush pens
- brush talk
- brush wolf
- hair brush
- lens brush
- sage brush
- shoe brush
- wire brush
- brush aside
- brush fires
- brush hooks
- brush talks
- brush truck
- brush up to
- brush wheel
- dandy brush
- flesh brush
- Mungo Brush
- paint brush
- scrub brush
- shave brush
- spool brush
- brush blades
- brush fences
- brush turkey
- brush wheels
- brush wolves
- cobweb brush
- coyote brush
- finger brush
- kabuki brush
- Possum Brush
- sponge brush
- toilet brush
- tongue brush
- brush borders
- brush cuckoos
- brush rabbits
- brush turkeys
- brush warbler
- clothes brush
- scratch brush
- shaving brush
- slicker brush
- spoolie brush
- brush warblers
- lavatory brush
- mad as a brush
- mushroom brush
- scouring brush
- daft as a brush
- scrubbing brush
- shoeshine brush
- camel-hair brush
- shoe shine brush
- Cedar Brush Creek
- dustpan and brush
- pot scrubber brush
- Sahul brush cuckoo
- live over the brush
- Sahul brush cuckoos
- lived over the brush
- lives over the brush
- living over the brush
- western brush wallaby
- touch of the tar brush
- paint with a wide brush
- tar with the same brush
- western brush wallabies
- paint with a broad brush
- paints with a wide brush
- tars with the same brush
- touches of the tar brush
- paint with the same brush
- painted with a wide brush
- paints with a broad brush
- painted with a broad brush
- painting with a wide brush
- paints with the same brush
- tarred with the same brush
- painted with the same brush
- painting with a broad brush
- tarring with the same brush
- painting with the same brush
- brush something under the carpet
Words that rhyme with brush
Questions about brush
- What does brush mean?
- Brush means an implement consisting of multiple more or less flexible bristles or other filaments attached to a handle, used for any of various purposes including cleaning, painting, and arranging hair.
- What is brush in Hindi?
- Brush in Hindi is ब्रश (braś), बुरुश (buruś), झाड़ू (jhāṛū). See Brush meaning in Hindi.
- How do you use brush in a sentence?
- The brush with death strengthened his determination to become a priest and he entered a Jesuit seminary soon afterwards.
- What part of speech is brush?
- Brush can be a noun, a verb or a proper noun.
- How do you pronounce brush?
- Brush is pronounced /bɹʌʃ/ (UK).
- What is the plural of brush?
- The plural of brush is brushes.
Words near brush in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: brush (page history and authors); Brush (page history and authors); brush (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); brush (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors); બ્રશ (Gujarati) (page history and authors); माझ्नु (Nepali) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-us-brush.ogg.
Cite this entry: “brush.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/brush. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.