Wash vs. Clean: Know the Difference

To cleanse, using water or other liquid, usually with soap, detergent, or bleach, by immersing, dipping, rubbing, or scrubbing

Free from dirt, stain, or impurities; unsoiled

To soak, rinse out, and remove (dirt or stain) with water or other liquid

Free from foreign matter or pollution; unadulterated

To make moist or wet; drench

Not infected

To flow over, against, or past

Producing relatively little pollution

To carry, erode, remove, or destroy by the action of moving water

Producing relatively little radioactive fallout or contamination

To rid of corruption or guilt; cleanse or purify

Having no imperfections or blemishes; regular or even

To cover or coat with a watery layer of paint or other coloring substance.

Not ornate or intricate; spare

To purify (a gas) by passing through or over a liquid, as to remove soluble matter.

Sharply defined; clear-cut

To pass a solvent, such as distilled water, through (a precipitate).

Free from clumsiness; deft; adroit

To separate constituents of (an ore) by immersion in or agitation with water.

Devoid of restrictions or encumbrances

To cause to undergo a swirling action

Thorough; complete

To cleanse something in or by means of water or other liquid.

Having few alterations or corrections; legible

To undergo washing without fading or other damage

Blank

(Informal) To hold up under examination; be convincing

Morally pure; virtuous

To flow, sweep, or beat with a characteristic lapping sound

Having no marks of discredit or offense

To be carried away, removed, or drawn by the action of water.

Fit for all readers, listeners, or audiences; not ribald or obscene

The act or process of washing or cleansing.

Honest or fair

A quantity of articles washed or intended for washing

Not carrying concealed weapons or drugs.

Waste liquid; swill.

Innocent of a suspected crime.

Fermented liquid from which liquor is distilled.

Free from narcotics addiction.

A preparation or product used in washing or coating.

Showing no evidence of using banned or performance-enhancing substances

A cosmetic or medicinal liquid, such as a mouthwash.

So as to be unsoiled

A thin layer of watercolor or India ink spread on a drawing.

In a fair manner

A light tint or hue

In a clean or nonpolluting manner

A rush or surge of water or waves.

(Informal) Entirely; wholly

The sound of this rush or surge.

To rid of dirt, rubbish, or impurities

Removal or erosion of soil by the action of moving water.

To get rid of (impurities or dirt, for example); remove

A deposit of recently eroded debris.

To prepare (fowl or other food) for cooking, as by removing the entrails or fat.

Low or marshy ground washed by tidal waters.

To remove the contents from; empty

A stretch of shallow water.

(Sports) To lift (a barbell) from the floor to the shoulders in one motion.

Western US The dry bed of a stream.

To undergo or perform an act of cleaning.

Turbulence in air or water caused by the motion or action of an oar, propeller, jet, or airfoil.

Free of dirt or impurities or protruberances.

(Informal) An activity, action, or enterprise that yields neither marked gain nor marked loss

Not dirty.

Used for washing.

In an unmarked condition.

Being such that washing is possible; washable.

(aerodynamics) Allowing an uninterrupted flow over surfaces, without protrusions such as racks or landing gear.

To clean with water.

(aviation) Having the undercarriage and flaps in the up position.

(transitive) To move or erode by the force of water in motion.

Empty.

(mining) To separate valuable material (such as gold) from worthless material by the action of flowing water.

(of metal) Having relatively few impurities.

(intransitive) To clean oneself with water.

Free of immorality or criminality.

(transitive) To cover with water or any liquid; to wet; to fall on and moisten.

Pure, especially morally or religiously.

(intransitive) To move with a lapping or swashing sound; to lap or splash.

Not having used drugs or alcohol.

(intransitive) To be eroded or carried away by the action of water.

(of criminal, driving, etc. records) Without restrictions or penalties, or someone having such a record.

To be cogent, convincing; to withstand critique.

(informal) Not in possession of weapons or contraband such as drugs.

(intransitive) To bear without injury the operation of being washed.

(informal) Devoid of profanity.

(intransitive) To be wasted or worn away by the action of water, as by a running or overflowing stream, or by the dashing of the sea; said of road, a beach, etc.

Smooth, exact, and performed well.

To cover with a thin or watery coat of colour; to tint lightly and thinly.

(obsolete) Total; utter. still in "clean sweep"

To overlay with a thin coat of metal.

(informal) Cool or neat.

(transitive) To cause dephosphorization of (molten pig iron) by adding substances containing iron oxide, and sometimes manganese oxide.

(health) Being free of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs).

(transitive) To pass (a gas or gaseous mixture) through or over a liquid for the purpose of purifying it, especially by removing soluble constituents.

That does not damage the environment.

The process or an instance of washing or being washed by water or other liquid.

Free from that which is useless or injurious; without defects.

A liquid used for washing.

Free from restraint or neglect; complete; entire.

A lotion or other liquid with medicinal or hygienic properties.

Well-proportioned; shapely.

The quantity of clothes washed at a time.

Ascended without falling.

(arts) A smooth and translucent painting created using a paintbrush holding a large amount of solvent and a small amount of paint.

Removal of dirt.

The breaking of waves on the shore; the onwards rush of shallow water towards a beach.

(weightlifting) The first part of the event clean and jerk in which the weight is brought from the ground to the shoulders.

The bow wave, wake, or vortex of an object moving in a fluid, in particular:

(transitive) To remove dirt from a place or object.

The bow wave or wake of a moving ship, or the vortex from its screws.

(transitive) To tidy up, make a place neat.

The turbulence left in the air by a moving airplane.

To remove equipment from a climbing route after it was previously lead climbed.

The backward current or disturbed water caused by the action of oars, or of a steamer's screw or paddles, etc.

(intransitive) To make things clean in general.

(nautical) The blade of an oar.

To remove unnecessary files, etc. from (a directory, etc.).

Ground washed away to the sea or a river.

To brush the ice lightly in front of a moving rock to remove any debris and ensure a correct line; less vigorous than a sweep.

A piece of ground washed by the action of water, or sometimes covered and sometimes left dry; the shallowest part of a river, or arm of the sea; also, a bog; a marsh.

To purge a raw of any blemishes caused by the scanning process such as brown tinting and poor color contrast.

A shallow body of water.

(video games) clean up

In arid and semi-arid regions, the normally dry bed of an intermittent or ephemeral stream; an arroyo or wadi.

To remove guts and/or scales of a butchered animal.

A situation in which losses and gains or advantages and disadvantages are equivalent; a situation in which there is no net change.

Fully and completely.

A fictitious kind of sale of stock or other securities between parties of one interest, or by a broker who is both buyer and seller, and who minds his own interest rather than that of his clients.

Free from dirt or filth; as, clean clothes.

Waste liquid, the refuse of food, the collection from washed dishes, etc., from a kitchen, often used as food for pigs; pigwash.

Free from that which is useless or injurious; without defects; as, clean land; clean timber.

In distilling, the fermented wort before the spirit is extracted.

Free from awkwardness; not bungling; adroit; dexterous; as, a clean trick; a clean leap over a fence.

A mixture of dunder, molasses, water, and scummings, used in the West Indies for distillation.

Free from errors and vulgarisms; as, a clean style.

A thin coat of paint or metal laid on anything for beauty or preservation.

Free from restraint or neglect; complete; entire.

Ten strikes, or bushels, of oysters.

Free from moral defilement; sinless; pure.

(architecture) The upper surface of a member or material when given a slope to shed water; hence, a structure or receptacle shaped so as to receive and carry off water.

Free from ceremonial defilement.

(television) A lighting effect that fills a scene with a chosen colour.

Free from that which is corrupting to the morals; pure in tone; healthy.

(stagecraft) A lighting fixture that can cast a wide beam of light to evenly fill an area with light, as opposed to a spotlight.

Well-proportioned; shapely; as, clean limbs.

To cleanse by ablution, or dipping or rubbing in water; to apply water or other liquid to for the purpose of cleansing; to scrub with water, etc., or as with water; as, to wash the hands or body; to wash garments; to wash sheep or wool; to wash the pavement or floor; to wash the bark of trees.

Without limitation or remainder; quite; perfectly; wholly; entirely.

To cover with water or any liquid; to wet; to fall on and moisten; hence, to overflow or dash against; as, waves wash the shore.

Without miscarriage; not bunglingly; dexterously.

To waste or abrade by the force of water in motion; as, heavy rains wash a road or an embankment.

To render clean; to free from whatever is foul, offensive, or extraneous; to purify; to cleanse.

To remove by washing to take away by, or as by, the action of water; to drag or draw off as by the tide; - often with away, off, out, etc.; as, to wash dirt from the hands.

A weightlift in which the barbell is lifted to shoulder height and then jerked overhead

To cover with a thin or watery coat of color; to tint lightly and thinly.

Make clean by removing dirt, filth, or unwanted substances from;

To overlay with a thin coat of metal; as, steel washed with silver.

Remove unwanted substances from, such as feathers or pits;

To cause dephosphorisation of (molten pig iron) by adding substances containing iron oxide, and sometimes manganese oxide.

Clean and tidy up the house;

To pass (a gas or gaseous mixture) through or over a liquid for the purpose of purifying it, esp. by removing soluble constituents.

Clean one's body or parts thereof, as by washing;

To perform the act of ablution.

Be cleanable;

To clean anything by rubbing or dipping it in water; to perform the business of cleansing clothes, ore, etc., in water.

Deprive wholly of money in a gambling game, robbery, etc.;

To bear without injury the operation of being washed; as, some calicoes do not wash.

Remove all contents or possession from, or empty completely;

To be wasted or worn away by the action of water, as by a running or overflowing stream, or by the dashing of the sea; - said of road, a beach, etc.

Remove while making clean;

To use washes, as for the face or hair.

Remove unwanted substances from

To move with a lapping or swashing sound, or the like; to lap; splash; as, to hear the water washing.

Remove shells or husks from;

To be accepted as true or valid; to be proven true by subsequent evidence; - usually used in the negative; as, his alibi won't wash.

Free from dirt or impurities; or having clean habits;

The act of washing; an ablution; a cleansing, wetting, or dashing with water; hence, a quantity, as of clothes, washed at once.

Free of restrictions or qualifications;

A piece of ground washed by the action of a sea or river, or sometimes covered and sometimes left dry; the shallowest part of a river, or arm of the sea; also, a bog; a marsh; a fen; as, the washes in Lincolnshire.

(of sound or color) free from anything that dulls or dims;

Substances collected and deposited by the action of water; as, the wash of a sewer, of a river, etc.

Free from impurities;

Waste liquid, the refuse of food, the collection from washed dishes, etc., from a kitchen, often used as food for pigs.

Without difficulties or problems;

The fermented wort before the spirit is extracted.

Ritually clean or pure

That with which anything is washed, or wetted, smeared, tinted, etc., upon the surface.

Not spreading pollution or contamination; especially radioactive contamination;

A liquid cosmetic for the complexion.

(of behavior or especially language) free from objectionable elements; fit for all observers;

The blade of an oar, or the thin part which enters the water.

Free from sepsis or infection;

A liquid dentifrice.

Morally pure;

The flow, swash, or breaking of a body of water, as a wave; also, the sound of it.

(of a manuscript) having few alterations or corrections;

A liquid preparation for the hair; as, a hair wash.

Of a surface; not written or printed on;

Ten strikes, or bushels, of oysters.

Marked by or calling for sportsmanship or fair play;

A medical preparation in a liquid form for external application; a lotion.

Thorough and without qualification;

Gravel and other rock débris transported and deposited by running water; coarse alluvium.

(of a record) having no marks of discredit or offense;

A thin coat of color, esp. water color.

Not carrying concealed weapons

The dry bed of an intermittent stream, sometimes at the bottom of a cañon; as, the Amargosa wash, Diamond wash; - called also dry wash.

Free from clumsiness; precisely or deftly executed;

A thin coat of metal applied in a liquid form on any object, for beauty or preservation; - called also washing.

Free of drugs;

The upper surface of a member or material when given a slope to shed water. Hence, a structure or receptacle shaped so as to receive and carry off water, as a carriage wash in a stable.

Completely; used as intensifiers;

An action or situation in which the gains and losses are equal, or closely compensate each other.

In conformity with the rules or laws and without fraud or cheating;

The disturbance of the air left behind in the wake of a moving airplane or one of its parts.

Washy; weak.

Capable of being washed without injury; washable; as, wash goods.

A thin coat of water-base paint

The work of cleansing (usually with soap and water)

The dry bed of an intermittent stream (as at the bottom of a canyon)

The erosive process of washing away soil or gravel by water (as from a roadway);

The flow of air that is driven backwards by an aircraft propeller

A watercolor made by applying a series of monochrome washes one over the other

Garments or white goods that can be cleaned by laundering

Any enterprise in which losses and gains cancel out;

Clean with some chemical process

Cleanse (one's body) with soap and water

Cleanse with a cleaning agent, such as soap, and water;

Move by or as if by water;

Be capable of being washed;

Admit to testing or proof;

Separate dirt or gravel from (precious minerals)

Apply a thin coating of paint, metal, etc., to

Remove by the application of water or other liquid and soap or some other cleaning agent;

Form by erosion;

Make moist;

Wash or flow against;

To cleanse (itself or another animal) by licking;