BRUSH

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does brush mean? 

• BRUSH (noun)
  The noun BRUSH has 9 senses:

1. a dense growth of bushes

2. an implement that has hairs or bristles firmly set into a handle

3. momentary contact

4. conducts current between rotating and stationary parts of a generator or motor

5. a bushy tail or part of a bushy tail (especially of the fox)

6. a minor short-term fight

7. the act of brushing your teeth

8. the act of brushing your hair

9. contact with something dangerous or undesirable

  Familiarity information: BRUSH used as a noun is familiar.

• BRUSH (verb)
  The verb BRUSH has 6 senses:

1. rub with a brush, or as if with a brush

2. touch lightly and briefly

3. clean with a brush

4. sweep across or over

5. remove with or as if with a brush

6. cover by brushing

  Familiarity information: BRUSH used as a verb is common.

 Dictionary entry details 

• BRUSH (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A dense growth of bushes

Classified under:

Nouns denoting groupings of people or objects

Synonyms:

brush; brushwood; coppice; copse; thicket

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

botany; flora; vegetation (all the plant life in a particular region or period)

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

brake (an area thickly overgrown usually with one kind of plant)

canebrake (a dense growth of cane (especially giant cane))

spinney (a copse that shelters game)

underbrush; undergrowth; underwood (the brush (small trees and bushes and ferns etc.) growing beneath taller trees in a wood or forest)

Derivation:

brushy (covered with or consisting of bushes or thickets)

Sense 2

Meaning:

An implement that has hairs or bristles firmly set into a handle

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

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

implement (instrumentation (a piece of equipment or tool) used to effect an end)

Meronyms (parts of "brush"):

grip; handgrip; handle; hold (the appendage to an object that is designed to be held in order to use or move it)

bristle (a stiff fiber (coarse hair or filament); natural or synthetic)

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

bottlebrush (a cylindrical brush on a thin shaft that is used to clean bottles)

toothbrush (small brush; has long handle; used to clean teeth)

shaving brush (a brush used to apply lather prior to shaving)

scrub brush; scrubber; scrubbing brush (a brush with short stiff bristles for heavy cleaning)

sable; sable's hair pencil; sable brush (an artist's brush made of sable hairs)

paintbrush (a brush used as an applicator (to apply paint))

nailbrush (a brush used to clean a person's fingernails)

hairbrush (a brush used to groom a person's hair)

clothesbrush (a brush used for cleaning clothing)

bristle brush (a brush that is made with the short stiff hairs of an animal or plant)

Derivation:

brush (remove with or as if with a brush)

brush (rub with a brush, or as if with a brush)

brush (clean with a brush)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Momentary contact

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural events

Synonyms:

brush; light touch

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

touch; touching (the event of something coming in contact with the body)

Derivation:

brush (touch lightly and briefly)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Conducts current between rotating and stationary parts of a generator or motor

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

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

electrical device (a device that produces or is powered by electricity)

Holonyms ("brush" is a part of...):

electric motor (a motor that converts electricity to mechanical work)

generator (engine that converts mechanical energy into electrical energy by electromagnetic induction)

Sense 5

Meaning:

A bushy tail or part of a bushy tail (especially of the fox)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting animals

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

tail (the posterior part of the body of a vertebrate especially when elongated and extending beyond the trunk or main part of the body)

Sense 6

Meaning:

A minor short-term fight

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

brush; clash; encounter; skirmish

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

combat; fight; fighting; scrap (the act of fighting; any contest or struggle)

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

contretemps (an awkward clash)

Sense 7

Meaning:

The act of brushing your teeth

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

brush; brushing

Context example:

the dentist recommended two brushes a day

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

dental care (care for the teeth)

Sense 8

Meaning:

The act of brushing your hair

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

brush; brushing

Context example:

he gave his hair a quick brush

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

hair care; haircare; hairdressing (care for the hair: the activity of washing or cutting or curling or arranging the hair)

Sense 9

Meaning:

Contact with something dangerous or undesirable

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Context example:

he tried to avoid any brushes with the police

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

contact (close interaction)

• BRUSH (verb)

Conjugation:

Sense 1

Meaning:

Rub with a brush, or as if with a brush

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Context example:

Johnson brushed the hairs from his jacket

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

rub (move over something with pressure)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s something PP

Derivation:

brush (an implement that has hairs or bristles firmly set into a handle)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Touch lightly and briefly

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Context example:

He brushed the wall lightly

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

touch (make physical contact with, come in contact with)

Verb group:

brush; sweep (sweep across or over)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "brush"):

crease; graze; rake (scrape gently)

flick (touch or hit with a light, quick blow)

Sentence frames:

Something is ----ing PP
Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody
Somebody ----s PP

Derivation:

brush (momentary contact)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Clean with a brush

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Context example:

She brushed the suit before hanging it back into the closet

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

clean; make clean (make clean by removing dirt, filth, or unwanted substances from)

Verb group:

brush (remove with or as if with a brush)

Sentence frames:

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

Sentence example:

They brush the cape

Derivation:

brush (an implement that has hairs or bristles firmly set into a handle)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Sweep across or over

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Synonyms:

brush; sweep

Context example:

A gasp swept cross the audience

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

move (move so as to change position, perform a nontranslational motion)

Verb group:

brush (touch lightly and briefly)

sail; sweep (move with sweeping, effortless, gliding motions)

Sentence frames:

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

Sense 5

Meaning:

Remove with or as if with a brush

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Context example:

brush aside the objections

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

remove; take; take away; withdraw (remove something concrete, as by lifting, pushing, or taking off, or remove something abstract)

Verb group:

brush (clean with a brush)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

brush (an implement that has hairs or bristles firmly set into a handle)

Sense 6

Meaning:

Cover by brushing

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Context example:

brush the bread with melted butter

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

cover (provide with a covering or cause to be covered)

Sentence frames:

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

Sentence example:

They brush the bread with melted butter

 Context examples 

Acarbose binds to and inhibits alpha-glucosidase, an enteric enzyme found in the brush border of the small intestines that hydrolyzes oligosaccharides and disaccharides into glucose and other monosaccharides.

(Acarbose, NCI Thesaurus)

They may forget how to brush their teeth or comb their hair.

(Alzheimer's Disease, NIH: National Institute on Aging)

The scientists applied various stimuli to the hairy skin of mice cheeks, including gentle mechanical stimuli (air puff, stroking, and brushing), high-threshold mechanical stimuli (hair pulling and skin pinching), and temperature stimulation.

(Study uncovers specialized mouse neurons that play a unique role in pain, National Institutes of Health)

Brain scans showed different activity patterns in response to brushing between unaffected volunteers and the patient who felt prickliness.

(“Sixth sense” may be more than just a feeling, NIH)

You can get it if you don't brush and floss regularly.

(Bad Breath, NIH)

Disability Assessment for Dementia (DAD) Decide to brush his/her teeth or care for his/her dentures?

(DAD - Decide to Brush Teeth or Care for Dentures, NCI Thesaurus)

After numbing the skin, a doctor removes the top layer of skin using sandpaper or a brush or burr (small file) that spins at a high speed.

(Dermabrasion, NCI Dictionary)

It is characterized by erythema and edema of the gums and bleeding while brushing the teeth.

(Chronic Gingivitis, NCI Thesaurus)

This cell is distinct from the unipolar brush cell found in the cerebellar cortex.

(Brush Cell, NCI Thesaurus)

A small brush is then used to remove cells from the airways.

(Bronchial brush biopsy, NCI Dictionary)