Word.ws English Dictionary

squeegee

Syllables: squee·geeUK/ˈskwiːd͡ʒiː//ˈskwiˌd͡ʒi/

squeegee noun: a tool for scraping consisting of a blade of rubber or some other material attached at a right angle to a handle.

Noun

squeegee (plural squeegees)

  1. A tool for scraping consisting of a blade of rubber or some other material attached at a right angle to a handle.
    • This machine, […] consists of a timber cylinder revolving on an axle, […] The cylinder is armed externally with diagonally-fixed scrapers, squeegees, or brushes.1866 November 1, “Phillip’s Patent Rotary Cylinder for Cleaning Ship‘s Bottoms”, in W[illia]m Smith, editor, The Artizan: A Monthly Record of the Progress of Civil and Mechanical Engineering...
    1. A long-handled tool with a blade used for cleaning and/or drying surfaces, or for levelling paths, roadways, etc.
      • [F]our men were employed in playing the jets, two in moving the hose from place to place, and four with brooms in sweeping the surfaces of the asphalte and keeping the channels free from straw and larger refuse; they also used squeegees to dry the surface of the asphalte, it being thought desirable...1873 March 22, William Haywood, “Washing the Streets”, in George Godwin, editor, The Builder. An Illustrated Weekly Magazine for the Architect, Engineer, Archæologist, Constructor, Sanitary Reformer...
      • This roadway is paved with granite blocks laid in the usual sand cement cushion layer, about 1 inch thick, with the joints filled with hot asphalt mixed with heated sand. By means of squeegees, a thin coating, sprinkled with sand, is left upon the surface, resulting in a smooth, resilient, and...1931, Carl C. Gray, H. F. Hagen, “[General Appendix] The Eighth Wonder: The Holland Vehicular Tunnel”, in Annual Report of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution […] (Publication 3077)...
    2. A short-handled tool with a blade for drying car windshields, windows, etc.
      • For roughly the same cost as two bottles of bathroom cleaner, it is now possible to buy a small squeegee and a microfibre cloth. If you can, buy a squeegee that also has a sucker attachment to enable it to be stuck somewhere convenient and always at hand the moment you emerge gleaming from your...2017, Edward Dickens, “Keep the Shower Room Clean”, in 101 Amazing Dad Skills, London: Portico, Pavilion Books Company, →ISBN
    3. A long-handled tool with a blade used on ships for swabbing decks and spreading protective coatings.
      • As for holy-stoning the decks [of the yacht], I set my face against that from the first; it is the worst description of nervous torture of which I ever heard, excepting perhaps, the infliction of the squee gee, which, as its name almost implies, sets every tooth in one's head on edge for a week.1844, [Matilda Charlotte Fraser] Houstoun, chapter III, in Texas and the Gulf of Mexico; or Yachting in the New World: […], volume I, London: John Murray, […], →OCLC, page 39
      • But now the old ship had a new flavor all her own. Her decks were slippery with [whale] oil; […] "Here, yew two!" Eph shouted as they stood shivering in the sudden chill. "Git them squeegees and scrape this ile to'ards the try works. Lively now, afore it gits out th' scuppers."1923 April 7, [Aylward Edward] Dingle, “The Spouter. Chapter VIII.”, in The Saturday Evening Post, volume 195, number 41, Philadelphia, Pa.; London: Curtis Publishing Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 40...
  2. (historical) A street-cleaning machine consisting of a roller with blades pulled by a horse.
    • Experiments during the previous year in street washing by squeegee and flushing machines proved so successful that this method has been permanently adopted and the work will be extended as funds are available. The squeegee machines are operated in batteries of one sprinkler and three squeegees, the...1912 September 3, J. W. Paxton, “Report of the Superintendent of Street Cleaning”, in Annual Report of the Commissioners of the District of Columbia: Year Ended June 30, 1912, volume II (Engineer...
  3. A tool used to press film into a mount, remove excess moisture from a print, etc.; a squeezer.
    • The transfer of the image from paper on to the glass is very easy. The paper is immersed in water, and placed in contact with a glass plate. The superfluous moisture being removed by a squeegee, the paper may then be stripped off, leaving the gelatine on the glass.1885, C[harles] G[eorge] Warnford Lock, “[Photography—Gelatine Processes.] Gelatino-bromide Film Paper.”, in Workshop Receipts (4th Series), London; New York, N.Y.: E[rnest] & F. N. Spon, […], →OCLC...
  4. A tool with a roller or blade used to force ink through a stencil in silk-screen printing.
  5. (slang) A person who uses a squeegee (noun sense 1.2); specifically, one who makes an unsolicited attempt to clean the windshield of a car stopped at a traffic light and then requests payment; a squeegee bandit.
    Synonyms:
    squeegee kid, squeegee thug

Verb

squeegee (third-person singular simple present squeegees, present participle squeegeeing, simple past and past participle squeegeed)

  1. (transitive) Sometimes followed by down, out, together, etc.: to press or spread (a substance) using a squeegee (noun sense); also, to use a squeegee on (something, such as a surface).
    • Transparencies on glass, for use in the Stereoscope, the magic lantern, or for window decoration, may very easily be made by the Carbon process. […] The Carbon tissue, previously cut to the dimensions of the glass, is printed as previously directed, with a very narrow safe-edge: it is then...1883, T[homas] Frederick Hardwich, “The Practical Details of Photographic Printing”, in J[ohn] Traill Taylor, editor, A Manual of Photographic Chemistry, Theoretical and Practical, 9th edition...
    • [T]he full quantity of gelatine is added, viz. 20 gr. per ounce, stirring well up from the bottom, and pouring into a dish to set. When cold, squeegee the emulsion (after being scraped up from the bottom of the dish with a card) through muslin into a solution of potash bichromate, stir it up with a...1885, C[harles] G[eorge] Warnford Lock, “[Photography—Gelatine Processes.] Emulsions.”, in Workshop Receipts (4th Series), London; New York, N.Y.: E[rnest] & F. N. Spon, […], →OCLC, page 346, column 2
    Synonyms:
    squilgee
  2. (intransitive) To use a squeegee.
    • Having regulated the temperature, the following articles will be required:– […] a rubber squeegee, and a piece of American cloth to protect the print while squeegeeing; […]1885, C[harles] G[eorge] Warnford Lock, “[Photography—Miscellaneous.] Silver Prints mounted on Glass; Medallions.”, in Workshop Receipts (4th Series), London; New York, N.Y.: E[rnest] & F. N. Spon...

squeegee meaning in Tamil, Tagalog and Arabic

squeegee in Tamil

உலர்த்துருளை

squeegee in Tagalog

short-handled tool with a blade for drying car windshields, windows, etc.
elastikong panlampaso

squeegee in Arabic

short-handled tool with a blade for drying car windshields, windows, etc.
مَسَّاحَة massāḥa

Examples of squeegee in a sentence

  • For roughly the same cost as two bottles of bathroom cleaner, it is now possible to buy a small squeegee and a microfibre cloth.2017, Edward Dickens, “Keep the Shower Room Clean”, in 101 Amazing Dad Skills, London: Portico, Pavilion Books Company, →ISBN:
  • With one battery, which works in the hilly section of the city, it has been found necessary to use three horses in each squeegee machine.1912 September 3, J. W. Paxton, “Report of the Superintendent of Street Cleaning”, in Annual Report of the Commissioners of the District of...

Synonyms of squeegee

Forms of squeegee

Noun
pluralsqueegees
Verb
third-person singular presentsqueegees
present participlesqueegeeing
past participlesqueegeed
pastsqueegeed

Origin of squeegee

The noun is probably derived from squeege (“(informal, dated) to squeeze”, verb) (an intensified form of squeeze (verb)) + -ee (suffix attached to verbs to form nouns meaning persons or things that are the subjects of the verbs). Compare earlier squilgee, squillgee (“tool in the form of a mop or swab, or a blade with a long handle, used for cleaning and/or drying a vessel’s deck”). The verb is derived from the noun.

Words formed from squeegee

Phrases with squeegee

Words that rhyme with squeegee

Questions about squeegee

What does squeegee mean?
Squeegee means a tool for scraping consisting of a blade of rubber or some other material attached at a right angle to a handle.
What is squeegee in Tamil?
Squeegee in Tamil is உலர்த்துருளை. See Squeegee meaning in Tamil.
How do you use squeegee in a sentence?
For roughly the same cost as two bottles of bathroom cleaner, it is now possible to buy a small squeegee and a microfibre cloth.
What part of speech is squeegee?
Squeegee can be a noun or a verb.
How do you pronounce squeegee?
Squeegee is pronounced /ˈskwiːd͡ʒiː/ (UK).
What is the plural of squeegee?
The plural of squeegee is squeegees.

Words near squeegee in the dictionary

  1. squeecore
  2. squeed
  3. Squeedunk
  4. squeege
  5. squeeged
  6. squeegee
  7. squeegee bandit
  8. squeegee bandits
  9. squeegee mop
  10. squeegee mops
  11. squeegeed

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: squeegee (page history and authors); squeegee (Tamil Wiktionary) (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: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Naomi Persephone Amethyst (NaomiAmethyst)-squeegee.wav.

Cite this entry: “squeegee.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/squeegee. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.