brushes 1 of 3

noun

plural of brush
as in encounters
a brief clash between enemies or rivals the two advance parties had a brush, but no one was wounded

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

brushes

2 of 3

verb (1)

present tense third-person singular of brush
as in flows
to move or proceed smoothly and readily a pop star brushing past a crowd of autograph seekers

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

brushes

3 of 3

verb (2)

present tense third-person singular of brush
as in kisses
to pass lightly across or touch gently especially in passing spiderwebs brushed her cheek as she walked through the basement

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of brushes
Noun
Skip the dog beds and brushes, which could harbor fleas and other problems. — Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 1 Aug. 2026 Other air styler round brushes leave my fine hair looking more wind-swept than blown-out, with a ton of fly-aways. — Gina Vaynshteyn, StyleCaster, 31 July 2026 Collias developed an interest in acting from a young age, but early brushes with the industry diverted her. — Leigh Nordstrom, Footwear News, 30 July 2026 Bringing home a current-generation flagship robot hybrid equipped with extendable side brushes, 100 days of hands-free maintenance, and custom carpet strategy controls at the $500 threshold is an extraordinary find. — Juhi Wadia, PC Magazine, 30 July 2026 Edoya, where brushes have been made by hand since 1718, is around the corner, and Nexpect, an excellent specialty coffee shop, is a short walk away. — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 28 July 2026 Char is removed using rotating steel brushes, and the interiors are re-charred using propane flames. — David Thomas Tao, Forbes.com, 27 July 2026 Ticks usually wait around on grasses and other vegetation until a person or animal brushes past. — Faith Wakefield, USA Today, 27 July 2026 This Hourglass set upgrades your entire routine with three of the brand's best-selling brushes. — Christa Joanna Lee, Allure, 18 July 2026
Verb
Soon after Sally brushes off the comments, her daughters are introduced. — Charlotte Phillipp, PEOPLE, 3 Aug. 2026 Out on 6th Avenue, a woman brushes by me holding a tiny white dog. — Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 4 July 2026 Johnson brushes off the skirmishes, broadly speaking, as part of the governing process. — Francesca Chambers, USA Today, 30 June 2026 Bryce Harper, star slugger, the Phillie Phanatic's best friend, and baseball hero to children of all ages, brushes his teeth. — CBS News, 28 May 2026 These stocks have climbed for weeks as the market brushes off the narrative that AI is a threat to the cybersecurity industry. — Morgan Chittum,matthew J. Belvedere, CNBC, 27 May 2026 Tokyo Stylez, Cardi’s hairstylist, brushes out a sleek brown hairpiece, and Erika la’ pearl, her makeup artist, dabs at Cardi’s face while the rapper scrolls through her phone, controlling the music. — Jazmine Hughes, Allure, 24 Mar. 2026 When some chime in to say their doctors had been cautiously optimistic about treatments, Sarah brushes that aside. — Gerald Witt, AJC.com, 1 Mar. 2026 At the Veterans of Foreign Wars post, Commander Tommy Nester finds it behind the ceiling panels, brushes it off the uniforms that aren’t behind glass and sweeps it from the baseboards of the main hall. — Sarah Henry, AZCentral.com, 1 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for brushes
  1. encounters
  2. flows
  3. kisses
  4. glides
  5. shaves
  6. sails
  7. touches
  8. drifts
Noun
  • Figueroa told the girls how much to charge and how to conduct the encounters, prosecutors said.
    — Eric Weiss, Sun Sentinel, 3 Aug. 2026
  • Others are using wearable brain imaging systems to study social cognition in natural encounters between people, which isn’t possible when subjects are in scanners like MRI machines.
    — Yigit Topoglu, The Conversation, 3 Aug. 2026
Definition of encounters
Verb
  • Nasser said current trade flows through the Strait of Hormuz are at a tenth of pre-conflict levels, adding that the world will continue to lose more than 100 million barrels of crude for each week the passage is closed.
    — Hanna Ziady, CNN Money, 4 Aug. 2026
  • What changes when information flows in, validation flows out and nothing meaningfully challenges the assumptions that entered the system in the first place?
    — Samuel Rodrigues, Forbes.com, 4 Aug. 2026
Definition of flows
Verb
  • The cast celebrated with selfies taken on digital cameras, kisses, hugs, and smiles, showing a chemistry that bodes well for their onscreen performances.
    — Alessia Amorosini, Vanity Fair, 30 July 2026
  • From the achingly cool entrance that frames the stretch of private beach in front, to the half-moon infinity pool that perfectly kisses the ocean beyond it, island living doesn’t get much better, much freer, than this.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 28 July 2026
Definition of kisses
Verb
  • Start your visit with a ride on the Bretton Woods Skyway Gondola, which glides above the treetops to reveal sweeping views of the Presidential Range painted in brilliant shades of crimson, amber and gold.
    — Brittany Anas, Forbes.com, 27 July 2026
  • The dynamic is at its best when Judah glides over IsoKeys’ beats like two kids trying to be suave while hopping an MTA turnstile with one tap.
    — Lei Takanashi, Pitchfork, 27 July 2026
Definition of glides
Verb
  • Its ceramic blades easily tackle coarse hair and its waterproof design makes in-shower shaves a breeze.
    — Sara Coughlin, Allure, 5 July 2026
  • Zillow says that a pale pink bathroom could lose you up to $6,013, while a pale pink kitchen shaves an extra $4,201 off potential buyers' offers.
    — Sophia Beams, Better Homes & Gardens, 24 June 2026
Definition of shaves
Verb
  • The Jules Verne Trophy is awarded to the boat that sails non-stop fastest around the world.
    — Andrew Rice, New York Times, 24 July 2026
  • Adventure Canada Adventure Canada sails to remote parts of the Arctic, including Canada and Greenland, and the company’s trips feature endless fodder for photo enthusiasts.
    — Kristen E. Pope, Travel + Leisure, 13 July 2026
Definition of sails
Verb
  • Failure Becoming More Expensive States have begun regulating how AI touches coverage and care decisions, and scrutiny is coming for any system that influences a clinical or financial outcome.
    — Fawad Butt, Forbes.com, 4 Aug. 2026
  • Also, chief data analyst Steve Kornacki is launching The Data Dive, a subscriber-exclusive newsletter that touches on the most consequential elections of the midterms.
    — Yasmin Vossoughian, NBC news, 3 Aug. 2026
Definition of touches
Verb
  • If its multiple drifts back to 30 over the next five years, Apple will need a 5% annual push from a combination of repurchases and earnings expansion just to stay even, to maintain its share price at current levels.
    — Shawn Tully, Fortune, 30 July 2026
  • Kirk briefly drifts away, drawn by the sound of a crying child.
    — Keith Phipps, Vulture, 30 July 2026
Definition of drifts

Browse Nearby Words

brushed (off)
brushes
brushes (aside or off)
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Brushes.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/brushes. Accessed 5 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on brushes

Nglish: Translation of brushes for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

'Sneaked' or 'Snuck': Which is correct?

Why does English have so many silent letters?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

How long is a jiffy?

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)
See More

Popular

See More

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

The Longest Long Words List

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
asap street sign
Figure Out These Acronyms ASAP You don't have to be a NASA engineer to get these...
See All