1551
Washington, Denzel
war widow n a woman whose husband has been killed in
war, who receives a small regular payment from the state (a
war widow's pension)
wary /'weəri/ adj [(of)] careful; looking out for danger: wild
animals wary of traps | a wary old politician who never says
too much → see also WARILY
was /wɒz; strong wɒz||wɑːz; strong wɑːz/ 1st and 3rd person sing.
past tense of BE: I was here yesterday. | That was John. → see
NOT (USAGE)
wash¹ /wɒʃ||wɑːʃ, wɑːʃ/ v 1 [T] to clean with liquid: She
washed her hands in hot water/with soap and water. | This
shirt needs washing. | Wash these marks off (the wall), will
you? → see also WASHING 2 [I] also wash up AmE — to clean
oneself or a part of one's body, especially one's face and
hands, with liquid: She washed and then went to bed. | You
haven't washed behind your ears. 3 [I+adv/prep] to be able to
be cleaned with liquid without damage: This fabric doesn't
wash well. 4 [T+obj+adv/prep, especially AWAY] to carry by the
force of moving water: farm animals and crops washed away
by floods 5 [I (against, over); T] especially lit to flow against or over
(something) continually: The waves washed (against) the
shore/washed over the deck. 6 [I (with)] usually in questions and
negatives] infml to be able to be believed: His story just won't
wash (with me). 7 wash one's dirty linen (in public) to
make unpleasant subjects public which ought to be kept
private 8 wash one's hands of infml to refuse to have
anything more to do with or accept responsibility for: I've
washed my hands of the whole affair. 9 wash your mouth
out! (a phrase said to someone who has just sworn or said
something rude)
USAGE Compare wash and clean. If you wash something
you remove dirt from it using a liquid, usually water. If you
clean something you remove dirt from it by any
method—using a cloth, a brush, chemicals, water etc →
see also CLEAN (USAGE)
wash sthg. ⇔ down phr v [T] 1 to clean (something large)
with a lot of water: She washed down the car/the walls/the
yard. 2 [(with)] to swallow (food or medicine) with the help
of liquid: We washed down our steak and chips with a glass of
wine.
wash sthg. ⇔ out phr v [T] 1 to cause to become free of an
unwanted substance, such as dirt: Wash that cloth out for
me. 2 to destroy or prevent by the action of water: The
cricket match was washed out by rain. → see also WASHED-
OUT, WASHOUT
wash out of sthg. phr v [T] AmE infml to fail or not be allowed
to continue: He washed out of college after a year.
wash up phr v 1 [I] especially BrE || do the dishes AmE — to
wash the dishes, plates, knives, forks etc, after a meal → see
also WASHING-UP 2 [I] AmE for WASH¹ 3 [T] (wash sthg. ⇔
up) (of waves) to bring in to the shore: The sea washed up
the body of the drowned sailor. → see also WASHED-UP
wash² n 1 [S] an act of washing: Go upstairs and have a
wash. | Give the car a good wash. 2 [C] a place where
vehicles are washed: a car wash 3 [S;U] a movement of
water caused by the passing of a boat → compare
WAKE 4 [(the)S] the flow, sound, or action of a mass of water:
the wash of the waves against the rocks 5 [C;U] also wash
drawing — (a) drawing made in water paint of one col-
our 6 AmE for WASHING 7 also dry wash AmE — a river bed
that has no water most of the time 8 come out in the wash
infml a) (of something shameful) to become known b) to
turn out all right in the end: Don't worry; it'll all come out in
the wash! 9 in the wash being washed: Your blue shirt is in
the wash.
wash³ adj [A] AmE infml washable: wash cotton
Wash, the a wide BAY (=an area of sea that curves inwards
towards the land) on the east coast of England between
Norfolk and Lincolnshire
wash-a-ble /'wɒʃəbəl||'wɑː-, 'wɑː-/ adj that can be washed
without damage: Is this cushion cover washable?
wash-and-wear adj (of clothes) easily washed and dried,
and not needing ironing
wash-ba-sin /'wɒʃbeɪsən||'wɑːʃ-, 'wɑːʃ-/ also basin BrE ||
sink, wash-bowl /-ˌbəʊl/ AmE — n a large fixed container
for water for washing the hands and face, especially in a
bathroom → compare SINK
wash-board /'wɒʃbɔːd||'wɑːʃbɔːrd, 'wɑːʃ-/ n a board or
piece of metal that is CORRUGATED (=has high and low places
on the surface) and is used to rub clothes against while
washing. Washboards are used as instruments in some kinds
of American FOLK music, such as SKIFFLE.
wash-cloth /'wɒʃklɒθ||'wɑːʃklɑːθ, 'wɑːʃ-/ n AmE for FACE-
CLOTH
wash-day /'wɒʃdeɪ||'wɑːʃ-, 'wɑːʃ-/ also washing day n
[C;U] the day when clothes are washed: Monday is washday
in our house.
'washed-out adj 1 reduced in colour, as if from too much
washing: washed-out old curtains 2 very tired: She felt com-
pletely washed-out after working all night. → see also wash
out (WASH¹)
'washed-up adj infml (especially of a person) with no further
possibilities of success: Let me tell you, friend, you're (all)
washed-up in this town! → see also wash up (WASH¹)
wash-er /'wɒʃə||'wɑː-, 'wɑː-/ n 1 a ring of metal, plastic,
rubber etc, put over a BOLT or a screw to give a softer or
larger pressing surface, or put between two pipes to make a
better joint 2 a person or machine that washes → see also
DISHWASHER 3 AmE for WASHING MACHINE
washer-dryer, -drier n a machine which is both a wash-
ing machine and a TUMBLE-DRYER
wash-er-wom-an /'wɒʃəˌwʊmən||'wɑːʃər-, 'wɑː-/ n pl.
-women /-wɪmɪn/ (in former times) a woman whose job was
to wash other people's clothes, often in her own home
wash-ing /'wɒʃɪŋ||'wɑː-, 'wɑː-/ also wash AmE — n
[U] 1 the work of washing cloth or clothes: I must get the
washing done tonight. 2 cloth or clothes that need washing
or have just been washed: a pile of dirty washing | Hang the
washing out to dry.
'washing day n WASHDAY
'washing line especially BrE || usually clothesline AmE— n a
piece of string stretched between two trees or poles in a
garden on which wet clothes are hung to dry
'washing ma,chine also washer AmE — n a machine for
washing clothes: He loaded up the washing machine.
'washing ,powder BrE || clothes detergent, laundry
detergent AmE — n [U] a powdered soap which is used for
washing clothes
Wash-ing-ton /'wɒʃɪŋtən||'wɑː- 'wɑː-/ → see WASHINGTON
D.C., WASHINGTON STATE
Washington, Book-er T. /'bʊkə tiː||-kər-/ (1856-1915) a US
teacher whose parents had been SLAVES, who started the
TUSKEGEE INSTITUTE, one of the first US colleges for African
Americans. He also wrote a book about his life called Up from
Slavery.
Washington, D.C. /'wɒʃɪtən diː 'siː||wɑː-, 'wɑː-/ also
Washington, the District of Columbia, the Dis-
trict, DC 1 the capital city of the US, on the Potomac River
close to the country's east coast. Washington's many govern-
ment buildings include the WHITE HOUSE, and the CAPITOL,
and the Supreme Court. It has no industry. D.C. stands for
District of Columbia, meaning that Washington is a special
area that governs itself and is not contained in any of the 50
states. 2 the US president
and his advisers in the WHITE
HOUSE who advise him:
Washington is expected to
resist pressure to lift trade
sanctions on Myanmar. →
see also WASHINGTON STATE
Washington, Den-zel
/'denzəl/ (1954-) a US film
actor whose films include
Cry Freedom (1987) and Mal-
colm X (1992). In 2001 he
became the first African
American since Sidney
Poitier in 1963 to win an
Oscar, which he won for
Training Day.
Denzel Washington