brush
Usage
What are other ways to say brush?
A brush is a brief encounter or skirmish: a brush with the law. Struggle implies vigorous bodily effort or violent exertion: a hand-to-hand struggle. Clash implies a direct and sharp collision between opposing parties, efforts, interests, etc.: a clash of opinions.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
That ended Shearer's brief brush with management and he returned to punditry, spending his weekends travelling between Newcastle and Salford for Match of the Day.
From BBC ● Oct. 31, 2026
It was easy to brush aside the question.
From Slate ● Oct. 28, 2026
But calls also have increased in complexity to include reports of hazardous materials and widespread brush fires that threaten an increasingly large segment of people living in areas that abut wildlands, he said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 26, 2026
Tina Bury, Employment and Social Security President, said: "The fuel allowance is quite a broad brush approach and obviously everyone's needs are different in this area."
From BBC ● Oct. 22, 2026
He came buzzing around in the brush and then dropped down in the hole.
From "Summer of the Monkeys" by Wilson Rawls
After so long on the road, driving past despair dotted along the road’s shoulders, Day brushes off a cry for help with a joke.
From Salon ● Aug. 24, 2026
When we wonder about his Ukrainian surname, he brushes that off as irrelevant.
From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026
After collecting the cells, the team removes the material from the brushes and uses forensic-level, next-generation sequencing technologies to isolate and amplify genetic sequences.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 11, 2026
Daniele Garner brushes a yak at the Pettee Ranch.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 8, 2026
Hector tosses the powder-covered handkerchief onto a table littered with brushes and tins of greasepaint.
From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern
Tech firms led heavy losses across Asian markets Tuesday as investors brushed off a rebound on Wall Street amid growing fears about the AI investment boom ahead of crunch earnings releases.
From Barron's ● Oct. 20, 2026
Mamdani has so far brushed off the discontent from the left.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026
The S&P 500 was trading only marginally below its record highs on Friday, as stocks brushed off early weakness to mount a late-day comeback.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 27, 2026
And yet, Anderson’s “Resident Evil” has always been the butt of the joke, brushed off largely because his movies dared to be different when people wanted more of the same.
From Salon ● Sep. 23, 2026
When I did, her hand sort of brushed against mine.
From "Firegirl" by Tony Abbott
All 339 Olympic events: The next Olympics is still a couple years away, but it’s not too early to start brushing up on your knowledge of the Summer Games.
From Slate ● Oct. 9, 2026
Moments after Manchester City had put down their first heavyweight marker of the post-Pep Guardiola era by brushing aside Crystal Palace, he was asked live on TV how much he enjoyed the game.
From BBC ● Aug. 28, 2026
“I don’t go that deep,” he says, brushing it aside when asked whether there are certain questions he’s trying to answer about being human.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026
You can also practise standing on one leg, for example while brushing your teeth.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 16, 2026
Silence except for crickets signaling, firewood snapping and popping, wind whirling and brushing bushes and leaves.
From "Will’s Race for Home" by Jewell Parker Rhodes
Vocabulary lists containing brush
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