ASH (ashes)

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

Irregular inflected form: ashes   

 Dictionary entry overview: What does ash mean? 

• ASH (noun)
  The noun ASH has 3 senses:

1. the residue that remains when something is burned

2. any of various deciduous pinnate-leaved ornamental or timber trees of the genus Fraxinus

3. strong elastic wood of any of various ash trees; used for furniture and tool handles and sporting goods such as baseball bats

  Familiarity information: ASH used as a noun is uncommon.

• ASH (verb)
  The verb ASH has 1 sense:

1. convert into ashes

  Familiarity information: ASH used as a verb is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• ASH (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The residue that remains when something is burned

Classified under:

Nouns denoting substances

Hypernyms ("ash" is a kind of...):

residue (matter that remains after something has been removed)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "ash"):

fly ash (fine solid particles of ash that are carried into the air when fuel is combusted)

bone ash (ash left when bones burn; high in calcium phosphate; used as fertilizer and in bone china)

Derivation:

ash (convert into ashes)

ashy (of a light grey)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Any of various deciduous pinnate-leaved ornamental or timber trees of the genus Fraxinus

Classified under:

Nouns denoting plants

Synonyms:

ash; ash tree

Hypernyms ("ash" is a kind of...):

tree (a tall perennial woody plant having a main trunk and branches forming a distinct elevated crown; includes both gymnosperms and angiosperms)

Meronyms (parts of "ash"):

ash-key (winged seed of the ash tree)

Meronyms (substance of "ash"):

ash (strong elastic wood of any of various ash trees; used for furniture and tool handles and sporting goods such as baseball bats)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "ash"):

Fraxinus Americana; white ash (spreading American ash with leaves pale green or silvery beneath and having hard brownish wood)

Fraxinus caroliniana; swamp ash (small ash of swampy areas of southeastern United States)

flowering ash; Fraxinus cuspidata (shrubby ash of southwestern United States having fragrant white flowers)

flowering ash; Fraxinus dipetala (shrubby California ash with showy off-white flowers)

common European ash; European ash; Fraxinus excelsior (tall ash of Europe to the Caucasus having leaves shiny dark-green above and pale downy beneath)

Fraxinus latifolia; Fraxinus oregona; Oregon ash (timber tree of western North America yielding hard light wood; closely related to the red ash)

basket ash; black ash; brown ash; Fraxinus nigra; hoop ash (vigorous spreading North American tree having dark brown heavy wood; leaves turn gold in autumn)

flowering ash; Fraxinus ornus; manna ash (southern Mediterranean ash having fragrant white flowers in dense panicles and yielding manna)

downy ash; Fraxinus pennsylvanica; red ash (smallish American tree with velvety branchlets and lower leaf surfaces)

blue ash; Fraxinus quadrangulata (ash of central and southern United States with bluish-green foliage and hard brown wood)

Fraxinus texensis; mountain ash (low-growing ash of Texas)

Fraxinus tomentosa; pumpkin ash (timber tree of central and southeastern United States having hairy branchlets and a swollen trunk base)

Arizona ash; Fraxinus velutina (small shrubby ash of southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico)

Instance hyponyms:

Ygdrasil; Yggdrasil ((Norse mythology) a huge ash tree whose roots and branches hold the earth and Heaven and Hell together)

Holonyms ("ash" is a member of...):

Fraxinus; genus Fraxinus (ash)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Strong elastic wood of any of various ash trees; used for furniture and tool handles and sporting goods such as baseball bats

Classified under:

Nouns denoting plants

Hypernyms ("ash" is a kind of...):

wood (the hard fibrous lignified substance under the bark of trees)

Holonyms ("ash" is a substance of...):

ash; ash tree (any of various deciduous pinnate-leaved ornamental or timber trees of the genus Fraxinus)

• ASH (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they ash    ... he / she / it ashes   
Past simple: ashed   
Past participle: ashed   
-ing form: ashing   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Convert into ashes

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Hypernyms (to "ash" is one way to...):

alter; change; modify (cause to change; make different; cause a transformation)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Derivation:

ash (the residue that remains when something is burned)

 Context examples 

There were no signs, however, of any ashes or scraps.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

She did not dream of the volcanic convulsions of love, its scorching heat and sterile wastes of parched ashes.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

"It is a story akin to the phoenix rising from the ashes, and the study answers an important question in evolution," said Bhattacharya.

(Red seaweeds, including those in sushi, thrive despite ancestor's loss of genes, National Science Foundation)

A natural alkaloid with an acridine structure isolated from the bark of the plant Acronychia baueri (Australian scrub ash) with antineoplastic properties.

(Acronine, NCI Thesaurus)

A type of smokeless tobacco that is made by mixing cured tobacco leaves with ashes from a certain type of fungus.

(Iq’mik, NCI Dictionary)

The fire was burning brightly, and in the grate there was a mass of black, fluffy ashes, as of burned paper, while the brass box stood open and empty beside it.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

They had spent the morning raking among the ashes of the burned wood-pile, and besides the charred organic remains they had secured several discoloured metal discs.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Dukono Volcano has been blasting ash above Helmahara Island and the surrounding waters since 2003.

(Plume from Dukono Volcano, Indonesia, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

The coal replied: “I fortunately sprang out of the fire, and if I had not escaped by sheer force, my death would have been certain,—I should have been burnt to ashes.”

(Fairy Tales, by The Brothers Grimm)

When a volcano begins erupting beneath a sheet of ice on Earth, the rapidly generated steam typically leads to explosions that punch through the ice and propel ash high into the sky.

(Clues about Volcanoes Under Ice on Ancient Mars, NASA)