Brush , n. In Australia, a dense growth of vegetation in good soil,
including shrubs and trees, mostly small.
Brush , v. i. To move nimbly in haste; to move so lightly as scarcely to be perceived; as, to brush by.
Snatching his hat,
he brushed off like the wind.
Goldsmith.
Brush , v. t. [imp. & p. p. Brushed (&?;);
p. pr. & vb. n.
Brushing.]
[OE. bruschen; cf. F. brosser. See Brush, n.]
1. To apply
a brush to,
according to its particular use; to rub, smooth, clean, paint, etc., with a brush. "A' brushes his hat o' mornings." Shak.
2. To touch in passing, or to pass lightly over, as with a brush.
Some spread their sailes, some with strong oars sweep
The waters smooth, and brush the buxom wave.
Fairfax.
Brushed with the kiss
of rustling wings.
Milton.
3. To remove or gather by brushing, or by an act like that of
brushing, or by passing lightly over, as wind; -- commonly with off.
As
wicked dew as e'er my mother brushed
With raven's
feather from unwholesome fen.
Shak.
And from the
boughts brush off the evil dew.
Milton.
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.
You
have commissioned me to paint your
shop, and I
have done my best to brush you up like your neighbors.
Pope.
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.]
1. 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.
2. The bushy tail of
a fox.
3. (Zoöl.) A tuft of hair on the
mandibles.
4. Branches of trees lopped off; brushwood.
5. A thicket of
shrubs or small trees; the shrubs and small trees in a
wood; underbrush.
6.
(Elec.) 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.
7. 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.
[As leaves] have with one winter's brush
Fell from their boughts.
Shak.
8. A skirmish; a
slight encounter; a shock or collision; as, to have a brush with an enemy.
Let grow thy sinews till their knots be strong,
And tempt not yet
the brushes of the war.
Shak.
9. A short contest, or trial, of speed.
Let us enjoy
a brush across the country.
Cornhill Mag.
Electrical brush, a form of the electric discharge
characterized by a brushlike appearance of luminous rays diverging
from an electrified body.
Hear it pronounced