brush

¹

[ bruhsh ]

noun

1. an implement consisting of bristles, hair, or the like, set in or attached to a handle, used for painting, cleaning, polishing, grooming, etc.
2. one of a pair of devices consisting of long, thin handles with wire bristles attached, used in jazz or dance bands for keeping a soft, rhythmic beat on the trap drums or the cymbals.
3. the bushy tail of an animal, especially of a fox.
4. Electricity.
   1. a conductor, often made of carbon or copper or a combination of the two, serving to maintain electric contact between stationary and moving parts of a machine, generator, or other apparatus.
   2. brush discharge.
5. a feathery or hairy tuft or tassel, as on the tip of a kernel of grain or on a man's hat.
6. an act or instance of brushing; application of a brush.
7. a light, stroking touch.
8. a brief conflict or fight; skirmish:

   He has already had one brush with the law.

   Synonyms: encounter, action, engagement

9. a close approach, especially to something undesirable or harmful:

   a brush with disaster.

verb (used with object)

1. to sweep, paint, clean, polish, etc., with a brush.
2. to touch lightly in passing; pass lightly over:

   His lips brushed her ear.

3. to remove by brushing or by lightly passing over:

   His hand brushed a speck of lint from his coat.

verb (used without object)

1. to move or skim with a slight contact.

verb phrase

1. to revive, review, or resume (studies, a skill, etc.): Also brush up.

   She's thinking of brushing up on her tennis.

2. to rebuff; send away:

   She had never been brushed off so rudely before.

3. to disregard; ignore:

   Our complaints were simply brushed aside.

brush

²

[ bruhsh ]

noun

1. a dense growth of bushes, shrubs, etc.; scrub; thicket.
2. a pile or covering of lopped or broken branches; brushwood.
3. bushes and low trees growing in thick profusion, especially close to the ground.
4. Also called brushland. land or an area covered with thickly growing bushes and low trees.
5. backwoods; a sparsely settled wooded region.

Brush

³

[ bruhsh ]

noun

1. Katharine, 1902–52, U.S. novelist and short-story writer.

brush

¹

/ brʌʃ /

noun

1. a device made of bristles, hairs, wires, etc, set into a firm back or handle: used to apply paint, clean or polish surfaces, groom the hair, etc
2. the act or an instance of brushing
3. a light stroke made in passing; graze
4. a brief encounter or contact, esp an unfriendly one; skirmish
5. the bushy tail of a fox, often kept as a trophy after a hunt, or of certain breeds of dog
6. an electric conductor, esp one made of carbon, that conveys current between stationary and rotating parts of a generator, motor, etc
7. a dark brush-shaped region observed when a biaxial crystal is viewed through a microscope, caused by interference between beams of polarized light

verb

1. tr to clean, polish, scrub, paint, etc, with a brush
2. tr to apply or remove with a brush or brushing movement

   brush the crumbs off the table

3. tr to touch lightly and briefly
4. intr to move so as to graze or touch something lightly

brush

²

/ brʌʃ /

noun

1. a thick growth of shrubs and small trees; scrub
2. land covered with scrub
3. broken or cut branches or twigs; brushwood
4. wooded sparsely populated country; backwoods

Derived Forms

• ˈbrusher, noun
• ˈbrushˌlike, adjective

Other Words From

• brusha·ble adjective
• brusher noun
• brushlike adjective
• un·brusha·ble adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of brush¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English noun brushe, broche, brosc, probably to be identified with brush ², if the original sense was “implement made from twigs, etc., culled from brushwood”; Middle English verb brushen “to hasten, rush,” probably from Old French brosser “to travel (through brush),” derivative of broce ( brush ² )

Origin of brush²

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English brushe, bro(c)che “brushwood, thicket”; from Middle French broisse, Old French broce “underbrush” (compare Anglo-French brousson “wood,” brusseie “heath”), perhaps from unattested Vulgar Latin bruscia “excrescences,” derivative of Latin bruscum “knot or excrescence on a maple tree”; brush ¹( def )

Word History and Origins

Origin of brush¹

C14: from Old French broisse , perhaps from broce brush ²

Origin of brush²

C16 (dense undergrowth), C14 (cuttings of trees): from Old French broce , from Vulgar Latin bruscia (unattested) brushwood

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. get the brush, to be rejected or rebuffed:

   She greeted Jim effusively, but I got the brush.

2. give the brush, to ignore, rebuff, etc.:

   If you're still angry with him, give him the brush.

More idioms and phrases containing brush

• give someone the air (brush off)
• have a brush with
• tarred with the same brush

Example Sentences

"The execution will have to be done at close quarters, brushing shoulders in the lobbies as we go to vote for the removal of much-respected colleagues."

From BBC

Wednesday to a large brush fire on South Mountain in the Santa Susana Mountains.

From Los Angeles Times

Meanwhile in New York, state police are investigating the death of Dariel Vasquez, a teenaged state parks employee who was killed while fighting a large brush fire in Sterling Forest, near the New Jersey line.

From Salon

On Friday morning, a pair of sheriff’s deputies scrambled up a hillside in Camarillo Heights after residents noticed smoke billowing out of dense brush.

From Los Angeles Times

More frequent and larger fires create a dangerous cycle that burns through the more resilient brush and trees, making room for quick-to-dry invasive grasses.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• scrub
• thicket

When To Use

What are other ways to say brush?

A brush is a brief encounter or skirmish. How does brush compare to struggle and clash? Find out on Thesaurus.com.