washer
UK /ˈwɒʃə(ɹ)/ · US /ˈwɑʃɚ/ noun, verb, proper noun
Forms washers washering washered
- noun Something that washes; especially an appliance such as a washing machine or dishwasher.
- noun A person who washes (especially clothes) for a living; a washerman or washerwoman.
- noun A person who washes their hands compulsively, as a symptom of obsessive-compulsive disorder.
- noun A face cloth.
- noun A flat piece of material, often of metal and often an annulus, placed beneath a nut or at some joint, to distribute pressure, alleviate friction, provide directionally differentiated friction (e.g. making the nut turn counter-clockwise only with difficulty), or prevent leakage.
- verb (transitive) To fit (a mechanical device) with a washer.
- proper noun A surname.
Synonyms
Etymology
From Middle English wasshere, wassher, equivalent to wash + -er. Cognate with Dutch wasser, German Wäscher.
Unclear. First recorded in the 14th century.
Webster’s 1913
- noun One who, or that which, washes.
- noun A ring of metal, leather, or other material, or a perforated plate, used for various purposes, as around a bolt or screw to form a seat for the head or nut, or around a wagon axle to prevent endwise motion of the hub of the wheel and relieve friction, or in a joint to form a packing, etc.
Etymology [AS. wæscere.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “washer”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details