brush

brush¹ S3 [brʌʃ] n

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1¦(object for cleaning/painting)¦

2¦(trees)¦

3¦(movement)¦

4¦(touch)¦

5

6¦(tail)¦

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[Sense: 1, 3-6; Date: 1300-1400; Origin: Early French broisse, from Old French broce ( BRUSH¹2); probably because branches from bushes and trees were used to make brushes.]

[Sense: 2; Date: 1300-1400; : Old French; Origin: broce 'broken branches, brushwood']

1.) ¦(OBJECT FOR CLEANING/PAINTING)¦

an object that you use for cleaning, painting, making your hair tidy etc, made with a lot of hairs, ↑bristles, or thin pieces of plastic fastened to a handle

→↑broom

▪ a scrubbing brush

→↑hairbrush, ↑nailbrush, ↑paintbrush, ↑toothbrush

2.) ¦(TREES)¦[U]

a) small bushes and trees that cover an area of land

b) branches that have broken off bushes and trees

3.) ¦(MOVEMENT)¦ [singular]

a movement in which you brush something to remove dirt, make something smooth, tidy etc

▪ I'll just give my hair a quick brush .

4.) ¦(TOUCH)¦ [singular]

a quick light touch, made by chance when two things or people pass each other

▪ the brush of her silk dress as she walked past

5.)

a time when you only just avoid an unpleasant situation or argument

brush with

▪ His first brush with the law came when he was arrested for disorderly behaviour.

▪ A brush with death can make you appreciate life more.

6.) ¦(TAIL)¦

the tail of a ↑fox

→↑broadbrush,daft as a brush at ↑daft

brush ²

brush² v

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1¦(clean/make tidy)¦

2¦(remove)¦

3¦(touch lightly)¦

4¦(put something on something)¦

Phrasal verbs

　brush somebody/something<=>aside

　brush somebody/something<=>down

　brush somebody/something<=>off

　brush up (on) something

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1.) ¦(CLEAN/MAKE TIDY)¦ [T]

to clean something or make something smooth and tidy using a brush

→↑sweep

▪ Don't forget to brush your teeth.

2.) ¦(REMOVE)¦ [T always + adverb/preposition]

to remove something with a brush or with your hand

brush sth off/from etc sth

▪ Ella brushed the crumbs off her jacket.

▪ He brushed the tears from his eyes.

3.) ¦(TOUCH LIGHTLY)¦ [>I always + adv/prep, T]

to touch someone or something lightly when passing them

▪ Something brushed her shoulders.

brush against

▪ I felt her hair brush against my arm.

brush past

▪ Nell brushed past him in the doorway.

4.) ¦(PUT SOMETHING ON SOMETHING)¦ [T always + adverb/preposition]

to put a liquid onto something using a brush

brush sth with sth

▪ Brush the pastry with milk.

brush sth over/onto sth

▪ Brush a little oil over the top of the pizza.

→brush sth under the carpet at ↑sweep¹ (15)

brush aside [brush sb/sth<=>aside] phr v

to refuse to listen to someone, or refuse to consider something

= ↑dismiss

▪ He simply brushed all my objections aside.

brush down [brush sb/sth<=>down] phr v

1.) to clean something using a brush

▪ He was brushing the pony down.

2.) brush yourself down

to use your hands to remove dirt from your clothes, especially after you have fallen

brush off [brush sb/sth<=>off] phr v

to refuse to listen to someone or their ideas, especially by ignoring them or saying something rude

▪ Corman brushed off accusations that he had acted dishonestly.

→↑brush-off

brush up (on) [brush up (on) sth] phr v

to practise and improve your skills or your knowledge of something that you learned in the past

▪ I must brush up on my French before I go to Paris.