brush

A2 Topic:Describing Qualities

US /bɹɛʃ/ UK /bɹʌʃ/ See IPA manual

verb noun Freq #4012

Meanings

1

verb
To clean, tidy, or smooth something using a brush

Remember to brush your teeth before bed.
2

verb
To touch something lightly and quickly as you pass

Her hand brushed his arm as she walked by.
3

verb
To remove something using a brush or a sweeping movement of the hand

He brushed the crumbs off the table.
4

noun
A short, slightly worrying experience of something dangerous

He had a brush with death when his car skidded off the road.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

3 verb · to remove something using a... sweep

Word family

Forms brushedbrushesbrushing

Derived forms air-brushairbrushbadgerbrushbath-brushbeebrushbitterbrushbottlebrushbroad-brushbrush-downbrush-firebrush-makingbrush-off

Related forms broom comb

Common collocations

brush hair Verb + noun

Etymology

From Middle English brusshe, from Old French broisse (Modern French brosse), from Vulgar Latin *brustia, from Frankish *bursti, from Proto-Germanic *burstiz (“bristle”), or also Vulgar Latin *bruscia, from Proto-Germanic *bruskaz (“tuft, thicket, underbrush”), which could be from Proto-Indo-European *bʰrusgo-.

brusshe Middle English broisse Old French *brustia la-vul *bursti frk *burstiz Proto-Germanic *bruscia la-vul *bruskaz Proto-Germanic *bʰrusgo- Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities Verbs of Movement

# brush

**Type:** Word
**Level:** A2
**Part of speech:** verb, noun
**IPA (US):** bɹɛʃ
**IPA (UK):** bɹʌʃ
**Frequency rank:** 4012

## Meanings
1. To clean, tidy, or smooth something using a brush
2. To touch something lightly and quickly as you pass
3. To remove something using a brush or a sweeping movement of the hand
4. A short, slightly worrying experience of something dangerous

## Examples
- Remember to brush your teeth before bed.
- Her hand brushed his arm as she walked by.
- He brushed the crumbs off the table.
- He had a brush with death when his car skidded off the road.

## Derived Forms
- air-brush
- airbrush
- badgerbrush
- bath-brush
- beebrush
- bitterbrush
- bottlebrush
- broad-brush
- brush-down
- brush-fire
- brush-making
- brush-off

## Related Forms
- broom
- comb

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: brusshe
- Root: broisse
- Root: *brustia
- Root: *bursti
- Root: *burstiz
- Root: *bruscia
- Root: *bruskaz
- Root: *bʰrusgo-

## Etymology
From Middle English brusshe, from Old French broisse (Modern French brosse), from Vulgar Latin *brustia, from Frankish *bursti, from Proto-Germanic *burstiz (“bristle”), or also Vulgar Latin *bruscia, from Proto-Germanic *bruskaz (“tuft, thicket, underbrush”), which could be from Proto-Indo-European *bʰrusgo-.

## AI Etymology
Brush comes from Middle English brusshe, from Old French broisse (Modern French brosse), from Vulgar Latin *brustia, from Frankish *bursti, from Proto-Germanic *burstiz (“bristle”), or also Vulgar Latin *bruscia, from Proto-Germanic *bruskaz (“tuft, thicket, underbrush”), which could be from Proto-Indo-European *bʰrusgo-.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities
- Verbs of Movement

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