n. 1
In arid and semi-arid regions, the normally dry bed of an intermittent or ephemeral stream.
Near-synonyms: arroyo, wadi, nahal (synonymous other than regiolectal specificity)
n. 2
The process or an instance of washing or being washed by water or other liquid.
I'm going to have a quick wash before coming to bed.
v. 1
To clean with water.
The car is so dirty, we need to wash it.
v. 2
To carry away or erode by the force of water in motion.
The flood washed away houses.

Related words

Word family: wash-and-wear washback washed-out washed-up washer washery washateria washette
Phrases: wash up wash-out wash off wash room dry wash wash away wash basket power wash

Forms

Wash, Cleanse or Purify?

Cleanse and purify are used extensively in a moral sense; wash in that sense is archaic.

J. C. Fernald, English Synonyms and Antonyms (1914)

Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.

3 letters: wet¹, lap¹, bog¹, fen¹
4 letters: race¹, draw¹, hush¹, tint¹, wadi², lave¹
5 letters: cover², color², marsh¹, swamp¹, scrub¹, rinse¹, bathe¹, nahal, donga
6 letters: colour², lotion², slough¹, arroyo³, dampen², morass², drench¹
7 letters: laundry², cleanse¹, launder², moisten²
8 letters: quagmire³, ablution³, lavation
9 letters: airstream
10 letters: slipstream

The small number after each word is its number of syllables (wadi² = 2 syllables).