washing

The word “washing” means the act of cleaning something with water. In plain terms, either the act of cleaning something, or the pile of laundry itself.

“Washing” is pronounced WOSH-ihng (/ˈwɑʃ.ɪŋ/ in IPA).

Here is “washing” used in a sentence: “Washing the car took most of the afternoon.”

“Washing” is a noun.

The word “washing” comes from Old English. From Old English wæsċing, built from wash plus the -ing suffix.

“Washing” is a fairly common word in modern English.

“Washing” has 2 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: the act of cleaning something with water.

"Washing" can mean the act of cleaning something with water, or the clothes and fabric items being cleaned; "laundry" usually refers specifically to those fabric items or the room where they are cleaned. In British English, "the washing" and "the laundry" are often interchangeable for a pile of clothes.

In the sense of clothes and linen to be cleaned, "washing" is an uncountable noun, so you say "some washing" or "a load of washing," never "a washing" or "two washings." It takes a singular verb, as in "the washing is dry."

Washing specifically involves water, and often soap, to remove dirt, while cleaning is a broader term that can include dusting, wiping, vacuuming, or polishing without water. All washing is cleaning, but not all cleaning is washing.

"Washing" broadly means cleaning something with water or the laundry itself, whereas in British English "the washing-up" refers specifically to cleaning the dirty dishes after a meal. Doing the washing means the clothes; doing the washing-up means the dishes.