brush.
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.
Meaning & usage
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.
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.
Wild vegetation, generally larger than grass but smaller than trees. See shrubland.
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.
A tuft of hair on the mandibles.
A short contest, or trial, of speed.
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.
A set of defined design and parameters that produce drawn strokes of a certain texture and quality.
to download brushes for Photoshop
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.
Where this word comes from
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *bʰers- Proto-Indo-European *-tis Proto-Indo-European *bʰr̥stís Proto-Germanic *bʰurstís Proto-Germanic *burstiz Frankish *burstibor. Vulgar Latin *brustia Old French broissebor. Middle English brusshe English 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-.
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.
To touch with a sweeping motion, or lightly in passing.
Her scarf brushed his skin.
To clean one's teeth by brushing them.
Where this word comes from
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *bʰers- Proto-Indo-European *-tis Proto-Indo-European *bʰr̥stís Proto-Germanic *bʰurstís Proto-Germanic *burstiz Frankish *burstibor. Vulgar Latin *brustia Old French broissebor. Middle English brusshe English 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-.
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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.