car wash

or carwash

noun

1. a place or structure having special equipment for washing automobiles.
2. the washing of an automobile:

   The service station is offering free car washes to draw customers.

Word History and Origins

Origin of car wash¹

First recorded in 1955–60

Example Sentences

Amenities in the gated community include a basketball court, car wash, clubhouse, library, kitchen, stage, card room, laundry facilities, playground, heated swimming pool, sauna and a tennis court.

From Los Angeles Times

“It was not unlike the feeling of being a kid who’s allowed to ride in the car while it travels through a car wash,” says Zappa.

From Los Angeles Times

Turning off El Camino Real in Mountain View, I pull into Lozano Brushless Car Wash. When we used to enter the forest green girders of this mid-century modern space-agey car wash, my father was present, wholly mine for a magical half hour.

From Salon

Department of Labor reported that the car wash was cheating workers of their wages on slow business days, forcing the business to provide back pay to 270 workers who had labored there between 2006 and 2008.

From Salon

I know in my bones now that sometimes grief is as much a feeling as it is a place, and I will miss that car wash where sentiment and landscape collided.

From Salon