Adjacent Words

Brush definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

BRUSH, n.
1. An instrument for cleaning any thing of dust and dirt by light rubbing, as floors, furniture, boots, etc. Brushes originally were made of shrubs or small branches of trees tied together, and such are yet used for coarse purposes. But the materials most used are bristles set in wood. Painters use a small brush to lay colors on their large pieces. Silversmiths use a wire brush for scrubbing silver, copper or brass, in order to gilding; and there is a method of staining leather by rubbing the color on the skin with a brush.
2. Branches of trees lopped off; brushwood; a sense common in the U. States.
3. The small trees and shrubs of a wood; or a thicket of small trees.
4. A skirmish; a slight encounter; also, an assault; a shock, or rude treatment, from collision; as we say a scouring, a rub.
5. In electricity, the luminous appearance of electric matter issuing in diverging rays from a point.
6. A tail; as the brush of a fox.
BRUSH, v.t. To sweep or rub with a brush; as, to brush a hat.
1. To strike as with a brush; to strike lightly, by passing over the surface, without injury, or impression; as, to brush the arm in passing; to brush the briny flood.
2. To paint with a brush; hence, to brush up is often used for cleansing in general.
3. With off, to remove by brushing, as to brush off dust; also, to carry away by an act like that of brushing, or by passing over lightly, as by wind.
4. To move as a brush; to pass over with a light contact.
BRUSH, v.i. To move nimbly in haste; to move so lightly as scarcely to be perceived; as, to brush by.
1. To move or skim over,with a slight contact, or without much impression.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a dense growth of bushes [syn: brush, brushwood, coppice, copse, thicket]
2: an implement that has hairs or bristles firmly set into a handle
3: momentary contact [syn: brush, light touch]
4: conducts current between rotating and stationary parts of a generator or motor
5: a bushy tail or part of a bushy tail (especially of the fox)
6: a minor short-term fight [syn: brush, clash, encounter, skirmish]
7: the act of brushing your teeth; "the dentist recommended two brushes a day" [syn: brush, brushing]
8: the act of brushing your hair; "he gave his hair a quick brush" [syn: brush, brushing]
9: contact with something dangerous or undesirable; "I had a brush with danger on my way to work"; "he tried to avoid any brushes with the police" v
1: rub with a brush, or as if with a brush; "Johnson brushed the hairs from his jacket"
2: touch lightly and briefly; "He brushed the wall lightly"
3: clean with a brush; "She brushed the suit before hanging it back into the closet"
4: sweep across or over; "Her long skirt brushed the floor"; "A gasp swept cross the audience" [syn: brush, sweep]
5: remove with or as if with a brush; "brush away the crumbs"; "brush the dust from the jacket"; "brush aside the objections"
6: cover by brushing; "brush the bread with melted butter"

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Etymology: Middle English brusch, from an Anglo-French form akin to Old French broce brushwood, Medieval Latin brusca Date: 14th century 1. brushwood 2. a. scrub vegetation b. land covered with scrub vegetation II. noun Etymology: Middle English brusshe, from an Anglo-French form akin to Middle French broisse Date: 14th century 1. a device composed of bristles typically set into a handle and used especially for sweeping, smoothing, scrubbing, or painting 2. something resembling a brush: as a. a bushy tail b. a feather tuft worn on a hat 3. an electrical conductor that makes sliding contact between a stationary and a moving part (as of a generator or a motor) 4. a. an act of brushing b. a quick light touch or momentary contact in passing III. transitive verb Date: 15th century 1. a. to apply a brush to b. to apply with a brush 2. a. to remove with passing strokes (as of a brush) b. to dispose of in an offhand way ; dismiss <brushed him off> 3. to pass lightly over or across ; touch gently against in passing • brusher noun IV. noun Etymology: Middle English brusche rush, hostile collision, from bruschen Date: 14th century a brief encounter or skirmish <a brush with disaster> <a brush with the law> V. intransitive verb Etymology: Middle English bruschen to rush, probably from Middle French brosser to dash through underbrush, from broce Date: 1674 to move lightly or heedlessly <brushed past the well-wishers waiting to greet him>

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. & v. --n. 1 an implement with bristles, hair, wire, etc. varying in firmness set into a block or projecting from the end of a handle, for any of various purposes, esp. cleaning or scrubbing, painting, arranging the hair, etc. 2 the application of a brush; brushing. 3 a (usu. foll. by with) a short esp. unpleasant encounter (a brush with the law). b a skirmish. 4 a the bushy tail of a fox. b a brushlike tuft. 5 Electr. a a piece of carbon or metal serving as an electrical contact esp. with a moving part. b (in full brush discharge) a brushlike discharge of sparks. 6 esp. US & Austral. a undergrowth, thicket; small trees and shrubs. b US such wood cut in faggots. c land covered with brush. d Austral. dense forest. 7 Austral. & NZ sl. a girl or young woman. --v. 1 tr. a sweep or scrub or put in order with a brush. b treat (a surface) with a brush so as to change its nature or appearance. 2 tr. a remove (dust etc.) with a brush. b apply (a liquid preparation) to a surface with a brush. 3 tr. & intr. graze or touch in passing. 4 intr. perform a brushing action or motion. Phrases and idioms: brush aside dismiss or dispose of (a person, idea, etc.) curtly or lightly. brushed aluminium aluminium with a lustreless surface. brushed fabric fabric brushed so as to raise the nap. brush off rebuff; dismiss abruptly. brush-off n. a rebuff; an abrupt dismissal. brush over paint lightly. brush turkey Austral. a large mound-building bird, Alectura lathami. brush up 1 clean up or smarten. 2 revive one's former knowledge of (a subject). brush-up n. the process of cleaning up. Derivatives: brushlike adj. brushy adj. Etymology: ME f. OF brosse

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Brush Brush, n. In Australia, a dense growth of vegetation in good soil, including shrubs and trees, mostly small.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Brush Brush, n. [OE. brusche, OF. broche, broce, brosse, brushwood, F. brosse brush, LL. brustia, bruscia, fr. OHG. brusta, brust, bristle, G. borste bristle, b["u]rste brush. See Bristle, n., and cf. Browse.] 1. An instrument composed of bristles, or other like material, set in a suitable back or handle, as of wood, bone, or ivory, and used for various purposes, as in removing dust from clothes, laying on colors, etc. Brushes have different shapes and names according to their use; as, clothes brush, paint brush, tooth brush, etc. 2. The bushy tail of a fox. 3. (Zo["o]l.) A tuft of hair on the mandibles. 4. Branches of trees lopped off; brushwood. 5. A thicket of shrubs or small trees; the shrubs and small trees in a wood; underbrush. 6. (Elec.) A bundle of flexible wires or thin plates of metal, used to conduct an electrical current to or from the commutator of a dynamo, electric motor, or similar apparatus. 7. The act of brushing; as, to give one's clothes a brush; a rubbing or grazing with a quick motion; a light touch; as, we got a brush from the wheel as it passed. [As leaves] have with one winter's brush Fell from their boughts. --Shak. 8. A skirmish; a slight encounter; a shock or collision; as, to have a brush with an enemy. Let grow thy sinews till their knots be strong, And tempt not yet the brushes of the war. --Shak. 9. A short contest, or trial, of speed. Let us enjoy a brush across the country. --Cornhill Mag. Electrical brush, a form of the electric discharge characterized by a brushlike appearance of luminous rays diverging from an electrified body.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Brush Brush, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Brushed; p. pr. & vb. n. Brushing.] [OE. bruschen; cf. F. brosser. See Brush, n.] 1. To apply a brush to, according to its particular use; to rub, smooth, clean, paint, etc., with a brush. ``A' brushes his hat o' mornings.'' --Shak. 2. To touch in passing, or to pass lightly over, as with a brush. Some spread their sailes, some with strong oars sweep The waters smooth, and brush the buxom wave. --Fairfax. Brushed with the kiss of rustling wings. --Milton. 3. To remove or gather by brushing, or by an act like that of brushing, or by passing lightly over, as wind; -- commonly with off. As wicked dew as e'er my mother brushed With raven's feather from unwholesome fen. --Shak. And from the boughts brush off the evil dew. --Milton. To brush aside, to remove from one's way, as with a brush. To brush away, to remove, as with a brush or brushing motion. To brush up, to paint, or make clean or bright with a brush; to cleanse or improve; to renew. You have commissioned me to paint your shop, and I have done my best to brush you up like your neighbors. --Pope.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Brush Brush, v. i. To move nimbly in haste; to move so lightly as scarcely to be perceived; as, to brush by. Snatching his hat, he brushed off like the wind. --Goldsmith.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(brushes, brushing, brushed) Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English. 1. A brush is an object which has a large number of bristles or hairs fixed to it. You use brushes for painting, for cleaning things, and for tidying your hair. We gave him paint and brushes... Stains are removed with buckets of soapy water and scrubbing brushes. ...a hair brush. N-COUNT 2. If you brush something or brush something such as dirt off it, you clean it or tidy it using a brush. Have you brushed your teeth?... She brushed the powder out of her hair... Using a small brush, he brushed away the fine sawdust. VERB: V n, V n prep, V n with adv • Brush is also a noun. I gave it a quick brush with my hairbrush. N-SING: a N 3. If you brush something with a liquid, you apply a layer of that liquid using a brush. Take a sheet of filo pastry and brush it with melted butter. VERB: V n with n 4. If you brush something somewhere, you remove it with quick light movements of your hands. He brushed his hair back with both hands... He brushed the snow off the windshield. VERB: V n with adv, V n prep 5. If one thing brushes against another or if you brush one thing against another, the first thing touches the second thing lightly while passing it. Something brushed against her leg... I felt her dark brown hair brushing the back of my shoulder... She knelt and brushed her lips softly across Michael's cheek. VERB: V prep, V n, V n prep 6. If you brush past someone or brush by them, you almost touch them as you go past them. (WRITTEN) My father would burst into the kitchen, brushing past my mother... VERB: V prep/adv 7. If you have a brush with someone, you have an argument or disagreement with them. You use brush when you want to make an argument or disagreement sound less serious than it really is. My first brush with a headmaster came six years ago... It is his third brush with the law in less than a year. N-COUNT: usu N with n [vagueness] 8. If you have a brush with a particular situation, usually an unpleasant one, you almost experience it. ...the trauma of a brush with death... The corporation is fighting to survive its second brush with bankruptcy. = encounter N-COUNT: N with n 9. Brush is an area of rough open land covered with small bushes and trees. You also use brush to refer to the bushes and trees on this land. ...the brush fire that destroyed nearly 500 acres. ...a meadow of low brush and grass. = bush 10. see also broad-brush, nail brush 11. tarred with the same brush: see tar

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

n. 1. Skirmish, engagement, rencounter, encounter, contest, fight, conflict, collision, action, affair. 2. Thicket, bushes, shrubs, underwood, brushwood.

1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue

To run away. Let us buy a brush and lope; let us go away or off. To have a brush with a woman; to lie with her. To have a brush with a man; to fight with him. The cove cracked the peter and bought a brush; the fellow broke open the trunk, and then ran away.

Moby Thesaurus

Arabia Deserta, Death Valley, Sahara, action, aerial combat, affray, air brush, air-dry, anhydrate, armored combat, art paper, attouchement, back country, backlog, backwoods, bake, ball the jack, barrel, barren, barren land, barrens, battle, battle royal, bavin, beak, bed, bed down, besom, blot, boom, boondock, boondocks, borderland, boscage, bowl along, bracken, brake, break, breath, breeze, breeze along, bridle, broom, brush, brush by, brush off, brush-off, brushwood, bullfight, bump, bunt, burn, bush, bush country, bushveld, camera lucida, camera obscura, canvas, caress, cauda, caudal appendage, caudation, chalk, charcoal, chuck, clash, clash of arms, clean, clip, cockfight, collide, combat, come in contact, con, conflict, contact, contingence, copse, crayon, cue, cure, curry, currycomb, cut along, cutaneous sense, dab, dehumidify, dehydrate, desert, desiccate, desolation, dismiss, disregard, dock, dogfight, drain, drawing paper, drawing pencil, drench, drier, dry, dust bowl, easel, embroilment, encounter, engagement, evaporate, exchange of blows, exsiccate, fagot, fantail, feed, feel, feeling, fight, fillip, fingertip caress, fire, fire fight, firewood, fixative, fleet, flick, flip, flirt, flit, fly, fly low, fodder, foot, forests, fray, frontier, gather, gentle, glance, go fast, go over, graze, groom, ground, ground combat, grove, hairbrush, hand-mindedness, hand-to-hand combat, hand-to-hand fight, handle, harness, heath, highball, hinterland, hit, hitch, house-to-house combat, howling wilderness, ignore, impinge, impingement, impingence, insolate, karroo, kiln, kindling, kindlings, kiss, lambency, lap, lay figure, lick, light touch, litter, log, lunar landscape, lunar waste, make knots, manage, maulstick, medium, melee, milk, mummify, naval combat, nip, nudge, osculate, osculation, outback, outpost, outstrip the wind, paint, paintbrush, palette, palette knife, parch, passage of arms, pastel, pat, peck, pencil, pick, pigments, pigtail, pile, pitched battle, pour it on, put aside, quarrel, queue, rap, rattail, rebuff, refresh, restudy, review, rip, rub, rub down, rumble, run-in, running fight, saddle, salt flat, scorch, scramble, scrape, scratchboard, scrimmage, scrub, scrubwood, scuffle, sear, sense of touch, set-to, shave, shoving match, shrivel, shrubwood, shrug off, siccative, sideswipe, sizzle, sketchbook, sketchpad, skim, skirmish, skirt, smoke, snap, soak up, spatula, speed, sponge, spray gun, squeak by, stand-up fight, storm along, stovewood, street fight, stroke, struggle, stub, study, stump, sun, sun-dry, swab, sweep, sweep out, sweep up, tactile sense, taction, tail, tailpiece, tame, tangency, tap, tauromachy, tear, tear along, tend, tentative contact, tentative poke, the bush, thicket, thunder along, tickle, timbers, tip, toothbrush, torrefy, touch, touch lightly, touch upon, touching, towel, train, tug-of-war, tussle, underbrush, undergrowth, underwood, uninhabited region, up-country, vacuum, vacuum-clean, varnish, virgin land, virgin territory, waste, wasteland, water, weary waste, weazen, whisk, whisper, whiz, wild, wild West, wilderness, wilds, wipe, wither, wizen, wood, woodlands, woods, yoke, yule clog, yule log, zing, zip, zoom