washer

Meanings

Noun

• Something that washes; especially an appliance such as a washing machine or dishwasher.
• A person who washes (especially clothes) for a living; a washerman or washerwoman.
• A person who washes his or her hands compulsively, as a symptom of obsessive-compulsive disorder.
• A face cloth.
• A flat disk, placed beneath a nut or at some joint, to distribute pressure, alleviate friction or prevent leakage.

Verb

• To fit (a mechanical device) with a washer.

Related

Similar words

• blotter

Origin

• From Middle English wasshere, wassher, equivalent to wash + -er. Cognate with Dutch wasser, German Wäscher.
• Image:Washers.agr.jpg|thumb|Assorted washers: flat, split, star and insulated
• Unclear. First recorded in the 14th century.