brush, n. [OE. brusche, OF. broche, broce, brosse, brushwood, F. brosse brush, LL. brustia, bruscia, fr. OHG. brusta, brust, bristle, G. borste bristle, bÜrste brush. See Bristle, n., and cf. Browse.].

An instrument composed of bristles, or other like material, set in a suitable back or handle, as of wood, bone, or ivory, and used for various purposes, as in removing dust from clothes, laying on colors, etc. Brushes have different shapes and names according to their use; as, clothes brush, paint brush, tooth brush, etc. [1913 Webster]
The bushy tail of a fox. [1913 Webster]
A tuft of hair on the mandibles. [1913 Webster]
Branches of trees lopped off; brushwood. [1913 Webster]
A thicket of shrubs or small trees; the shrubs and small trees in a wood; underbrush. [1913 Webster]
land covered with brush{5}; in Australia, a dense growth of vegetation in good soil, including shrubs and trees, mostly small. [Webster 1913 Suppl.]
A bundle of flexible wires or thin plates of metal, used to conduct an electrical current to or from the commutator of a dynamo, electric motor, or similar apparatus. [1913 Webster]
The act of brushing; as, to give one's clothes a brush; a rubbing or grazing with a quick motion; a light touch; as, we got a brush from the wheel as it passed. [1913 Webster]
"[As leaves] have with one winter's brush
Fell from their boughts." [1913 Webster]
A skirmish; a slight encounter; a shock or collision; as, to have a brush with an enemy; a brush with the law. [1913 Webster]
"Let grow thy sinews till their knots be strong,
And tempt not yet the brushes of the war." [1913 Webster]
A short contest, or trial, of speed. [1913 Webster]
"Let us enjoy a brush across the country." [1913 Webster]

Electrical brush, a form of the electric discharge characterized by a brushlike appearance of luminous rays diverging from an electrified body.

brush, v. t. [OE. bruschen; cf. F. brosser. See Brush, n.].

To apply a brush to, according to its particular use; to rub, smooth, clean, paint, etc., with a brush. Shak. [1913 Webster]
To touch in passing, or to pass lightly over, as with a brush. [1913 Webster]
"Some spread their sailes, some with strong oars sweep
The waters smooth, and brush the buxom wave." [1913 Webster]

"Brushed with the kiss of rustling wings." [1913 Webster]
To remove or gather by brushing, or by an act like that of brushing, or by passing lightly over, as wind; -- commonly with off. [1913 Webster]
"As wicked dew as e'er my mother brushed
With raven's feather from unwholesome fen." [1913 Webster]

"And from the boughts brush off the evil dew." [1913 Webster]

"You have commissioned me to paint your shop, and I have done my best to brush you up like your neighbors." [1913 Webster]

To brush aside, to remove from one's way, as with a brush. -- To brush away, to remove, as with a brush or brushing motion. -- To brush up, to paint, or make clean or bright with a brush; to cleanse or improve; to renew.

brush, v. i.

To move nimbly in haste; to move so lightly as scarcely to be perceived; as, to brush by. [1913 Webster]

"Snatching his hat, he brushed off like the wind." [1913 Webster]

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OXFORD DICTIONARY

brush, n. & v.
--n.
1 an implement with bristles, hair, wire, etc. varying in firmness set into a block or projecting from the end of a handle, for any of various purposes, esp. cleaning or scrubbing, painting, arranging the hair, etc.
2 the application of a brush; brushing.
3 a (usu. foll. by with) a short esp. unpleasant encounter (a brush with the law). b a skirmish.
4 a the bushy tail of a fox. b a brushlike tuft.
5 Electr. a a piece of carbon or metal serving as an electrical contact esp. with a moving part. b (in full brush discharge) a brushlike discharge of sparks.
6 esp. US & Austral. a undergrowth, thicket; small trees and shrubs. b US such wood cut in faggots. c land covered with brush. d Austral. dense forest.
7 Austral. & NZ sl. a girl or young woman.
--v.
1 tr. a sweep or scrub or put in order with a brush. b treat (a surface) with a brush so as to change its nature or appearance.
2 tr. a remove (dust etc.) with a brush. b apply (a liquid preparation) to a surface with a brush.
3 tr. & intr. graze or touch in passing.
4 intr. perform a brushing action or motion.

Idiom

brush aside dismiss or dispose of (a person, idea, etc.) curtly or lightly. brushed aluminium aluminium with a lustreless surface. brushed fabric fabric brushed so as to raise the nap. brush off rebuff; dismiss abruptly. brush-off n. a rebuff; an abrupt dismissal. brush over paint lightly. brush turkey Austral. a large mound-building bird, Alectura lathami. brush up
1 clean up or smarten.
2 revive one's former knowledge of (a subject). brush-up n. the process of cleaning up.

Derivative

brushlike adj. brushy adj.

Etymology

ME f. OF brosse

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THESAURUS

brush

Arabia Deserta, Death Valley, Sahara, action, aerial combat, affray, air brush, air-dry, anhydrate, armored combat, art paper, attouchement, back country, backlog, backwoods, bake, ball the jack, barrel, barren, barren land, barrens, battle, battle royal, bavin, beak, bed, bed down, besom, blot, boom, boondock, boondocks, borderland, boscage, bowl along, bracken, brake, break, breath, breeze, breeze along, bridle, broom, brush, brush by, brush off, brush-off, brushwood, bullfight, bump, bunt, burn, bush, bush country, bushveld, camera lucida, camera obscura, canvas, caress, cauda, caudal appendage, caudation, chalk, charcoal, chuck, clash, clash of arms, clean, clip, cockfight, collide, combat, come in contact, con, conflict, contact, contingence, copse, crayon, cue, cure, curry, currycomb, cut along, cutaneous sense, dab, dehumidify, dehydrate, desert, desiccate, desolation, dismiss, disregard, dock, dogfight, drain, drawing paper, drawing pencil, drench, drier, dry, dust bowl, easel, embroilment, encounter, engagement, evaporate, exchange of blows, exsiccate, fagot, fantail, feed, feel, feeling, fight, fillip, fingertip caress, fire, fire fight, firewood, fixative, fleet, flick, flip, flirt, flit, fly, fly low, fodder, foot, forests, fray, frontier, gather, gentle, glance, go fast, go over, graze, groom, ground, ground combat, grove, hairbrush, hand-mindedness, hand-to-hand combat, hand-to-hand fight, handle, harness, heath, highball, hinterland, hit, hitch, house-to-house combat, howling wilderness, ignore, impinge, impingement, impingence, insolate, karroo, kiln, kindling, kindlings, kiss, lambency, lap, lay figure, lick, light touch, litter, log, lunar landscape, lunar waste, make knots, manage, maulstick, medium, melee, milk, mummify, naval combat, nip, nudge, osculate, osculation, outback, outpost, outstrip the wind, paint, paintbrush, palette, palette knife, parch, passage of arms, pastel, pat, peck, pencil, pick, pigments, pigtail, pile, pitched battle, pour it on, put aside, quarrel, queue, rap, rattail, rebuff, refresh, restudy, review, rip, rub, rub down, rumble, run-in, running fight, saddle, salt flat, scorch, scramble, scrape, scratchboard, scrimmage, scrub, scrubwood, scuffle, sear, sense of touch, set-to, shave, shoving match, shrivel, shrubwood, shrug off, siccative, sideswipe, sizzle, sketchbook, sketchpad, skim, skirmish, skirt, smoke, snap, soak up, spatula, speed, sponge, spray gun, squeak by, stand-up fight, storm along, stovewood, street fight, stroke, struggle, stub, study, stump, sun, sun-dry, swab, sweep, sweep out, sweep up, tactile sense, taction, tail, tailpiece, tame, tangency, tap, tauromachy, tear, tear along, tend, tentative contact, tentative poke, the bush, thicket, thunder along, tickle, timbers, tip, toothbrush, torrefy, touch, touch lightly, touch upon, touching, towel, train, tug-of-war, tussle, underbrush, undergrowth, underwood, uninhabited region, up-country, vacuum, vacuum-clean, varnish, virgin land, virgin territory, waste, wasteland, water, weary waste, weazen, whisk, whisper, whiz, wild, wild West, wilderness, wilds, wipe, wither, wizen, wood, woodlands, woods, yoke, yule clog, yule log, zing, zip, zoom

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ROGET THESAURUS

brush

Cleanness

VB be clean, render clean, clean, cleanse, mundify, rinse, wring, flush, full, wipe, mop, sponge, scour, swab, scrub, brush up, wash, lave, launder, buck, absterge, deterge, decrassify, clear, purify, depurate, despumate, defecate, purge, expurgate, elutriate, lixiviate, edulcorate, clarify, refine, rack, filter, filtrate, drain, strain, disinfect, fumigate, ventilate, deodorize, whitewash, castrate, emasculate, sift, winnow, pick, weed, comb, rake, brush, sweep, rout out, clear out, sweep out, make a clean sweep of.

Contention

N contention, strife, contest, contestation, struggle, belligerency, opposition, controversy, polemics, debate, war of words, logomachy, litigation, paper war, high words, sparring, competition, rivalry, corrivalry, corrivalship, agonism, concours, match, race, horse racing, heat, steeple chase, handicap, regatta, field day, sham fight, Derby day, turf, sporting, bullfight, tauromachy, gymkhana, boat race, torpids, wrestling, greco-roman wrestling, pugilism, boxing, fisticuffs, the manly art of self-defense, spar, mill, set-to, round, bout, event, prize fighting, quarterstaff, single stick, gladiatorship, gymnastics, jiujitsu, jujutsu, kooshti, sumo, athletics, athletic sports, games of skill, shindy, fracas, clash of arms, tussle, scuffle, broil, fray, affray, affrayment, velitation, colluctation, luctation, brabble, brigue, scramble, melee, scrimmage, stramash, bushfighting, free fight, stand up fight, hand to hand, running fight, conflict, skirmish, rencounter, encounter, rencontre, collision, affair, brush, fight, battle, battle royal, combat, action, engagement, joust, tournament, tilt, tilting, tournay, list, pitched battle, death struggle, struggle for life or death, life or death struggle, Armageddon, hard knocks, sharp contest, tug of war, naval engagement, naumachia, sea fight, duel, duello, single combat, monomachy, satisfaction, passage d'armes, passage of arms, affair of honor, triangular duel, hostile meeting, digladiation, deeds of arms, feats of arms, appeal to arms, pugnacity, combativeness, bone of contention, contending, together by the ears, at loggerheads, at war, at issue, competitive, rival, belligerent, contentious, combative, bellicose, unpeaceful, warlike, quarrelsome, pugnacious, pugilistic, gladiatorial, palestric, palestrical, a verbis ad verbera, a word and a blow, a very pretty quarrel as it stands, commune periculum concordiam parit, lis litem generat.

Roughness

N roughness, tooth, grain, texture, ripple, asperity, rugosity, salebrosity, corrugation, nodosity, arborescence, pilosity, brush, hair, beard, shag, mane, whisker, moustache, imperial, tress, lock, curl, ringlet, fimbriae, pili, cilia, villi, lovelock, beaucatcher, curl paper, goatee, papillote, scalp lock, plumage, plumosity, plume, panache, crest, feather, tuft, fringe, toupee, wool, velvet, plush, nap, pile, floss, fur, down, byssus, moss, bur, fluff, knot (convolution), rough, uneven, scabrous, scaly, knotted, rugged, rugose, rugous, knurly, asperous, crisp, salebrous, gnarled, unpolished, unsmooth, roughhewn, craggy, cragged, crankling, scraggy, prickly, arborescent, leafy, well-wooded, feathery, plumose, plumigerous, laciniate, laciniform, laciniose, pappose, pileous, pilose, trichogenous, trichoid, tufted, fimbriated, hairy, ciliated, filamentous, hirsute, crinose, crinite, bushy, hispid, villous, pappous, bearded, pilous, shaggy, shagged, fringed, befringed, setous, setose, setaceous, like quills upon the fretful porcupine, rough as a nutmeg grater, rough as a bear, downy, velvety, flocculent, woolly, lanate, lanated, lanuginous, lanuginose, tomentose, fluffy, against the grain, cabello luengo y corto el seso.

Velocity

VB move quickly, trip, fisk, speed, hie, hasten, post, spank, scuttle, scud, scuddle, scour, scour the plain, scamper, run like mad, beat it, fly, race, run a race, cut away, shot, tear, whisk, zoom, swoosh, sweep, skim, brush, cut along, bowl along, barrel along, barrel, scorch, burn up the track, rush, dash on, dash off, dash forward, bolt, trot, gallop, amble, troll, bound, flit, spring, dart, boom, march in quick time, march in double time, ride hard, get over the ground, hurry, accelerate, put on, quicken, quicken one's pace, mend one's pace, clap spurs to one's horse, make haste, make rapid strides, make forced marches, make the best of one's way, put one's best leg foremost, stir one's stumps, wing one's way, set off at a score, carry sail, crowd sail, go off like a shot, go like a shot, go ahead, gain ground, outstrip the wind, fly on the wings of the wind, keep up with, keep pace with, outstrip, outmarch.

Painting

N painting, depicting, drawing, design, perspective, sciagraphy, skiagraphy, chiaroscuro, composition, treatment, historical painting, portrait painting, miniature painting, landscape painting, marine painting, still life, flower painting, scene painting, scenography, school, style, the grand style, high art, genre, portraiture, ornamental art, monochrome, polychrome, grisaille, pallet, palette, easel, brush, pencil, stump, black lead, charcoal, crayons, chalk, pastel, paint, watercolor, body color, oil color, oils, oil paint, varnish, priming, gouache, tempera, distemper, fresco, water glass, enamel, encaustic painting, mosaic, tapestry, photography, heliography, color photography, sun painting, graphics, computer graphics, picture, painting, piece, tableau, canvas, oil painting, fresco, cartoon, easel picture, cabinet picture, draught, draft, pencil drawing, water color drawing, etching, charcoal, pen-and-ink, sketch, outline, study, photograph, color photograph, black-and-white photograph, holograph, heliograph, daguerreotype, talbotype, calotype, heliotype, negative, positive, print, glossy print, matte print, enlargement, reduction, life-size print, instant photo, Polaroid photo, technicolor, Kodachrome, Ektachrome, Polaroid, portrait, whole length, full length, half length, kitcat, head, miniature, shade, silhouette, profile, landscape, seapiece, view, scene, prospect, panorama, diorama, still life, picture gallery, exhibit, studio, atelier, pinacotheca, painted, pictorial, graphic, picturesque, pencil, oil, in pencil, fecit, delineavit, mutum est pictura poema.

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