Search results for 'brush':

brush noun (brushes) 1 a tool with lengths of stiff nylon, wire, hair, bristles or something similar set into it, used for tidying the hair, cleaning, painting, etc. 2 an act of brushing • Give your hair a brush. 3 a light grazing contact. 4 a short encounter, especially a fight or disagreement; a skirmish • a brush with the law. 5 a fox's bushy brush-like tail. 6 elec a metal or carbon conductor that maintains sliding contact between the stationary and moving parts of an electric motor or generator. 7 brushwood. verb (brushed, brushing) 1 to sweep, groom or clean, etc with a brush; to pass a brush over (eg the floor) or through (eg the hair). 2 (often brush something or someone down) to rub it or them with a brush, etc or with a sweeping movement, so as to remove dirt or dust, etc. 4 (also brush against something or someone) tr & intr to touch it or them lightly in passing. brusher noun. brushed adj 1 said of a fabric: treated by a brushing process so that it feels soft and warm. 2 smoothed, rubbed, straightened, etc with a brush. brushing noun.
ETYMOLOGY: 14c: from French brosse brushwood.