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brush

brushverb

American /brʌʃ/ British /brʌʃ/

third-person singular brushes past tense brushed past participle brushed present participle brushing

very commondefining vocabulary

clean or tidyclean, tidy, or arrange something with a brush
transitive [T] verb + object [V + obj]
- Brush your teeth before bed. V + obj
- She brushed her hair in front of the mirror. V + obj
- He brushed the dust off his jacket. V + obj
- Brush the crumbs off the table. V + obj
Collocations
verb + noun brush your teeth, brush your hair, brush the dust off
touch lightlytouch something lightly while passing
transitive or intransitive [T/I] verb + object [V + obj] verb + adverb or preposition [V + adv/prep]
- Her hand brushed his as she passed. V + obj
- A branch brushed against the window. V + adv/prep
- He brushed past me without speaking. V + adv/prep
Collocations
phrase brush against something, brush past someone

Word family

brush (the tool used for brushing)

See also brush off (refuse to listen to someone or deal with something); brush up (improve a skill you have not used for a while)