Washer

How to spell washer

6 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce washer

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does washer mean?

1. nounA flat ring of metal, rubber, or plastic placed under a nut or bolt, or inside a tap, to spread load or form a seal.
2. nounA machine for cleaning clothes; a washing machine.
3. nounA person whose job is to wash something, such as dishes or windows.

Washer in a sentence

• The dripping tap stopped once he replaced the worn rubber washer.

• The laundry sat in a pile because the washer had broken down again.

• The restaurant hired an extra dish washer for the busy weekend shifts.

• Each bolt in the kit came with a matching steel washer and nut.

• They bought a new washer and dryer for the renovated utility room.

• As the window washer moved along the office front, the glass turned clear.

Where does washer come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

The word is built from the verb 'wash' plus the agent suffix '-er', which English uses to turn a verb into the thing or person that performs the action. 'Wash' descends from the Old English wascan, meaning to clean with water, which itself goes back to a Germanic root tied to 'water' (the older form was something like watskan). The '-er' ending is the same productive suffix found in 'baker' and 'opener', marking either a doer or a tool. By the late medieval period 'washer' simply meant one who washes; the mechanical 'washing machine' sense arrived with domestic appliances in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The plumbing and hardware sense, a flat ring fitted under a bolt or in a tap, also grew out of the idea of something associated with washing, possibly because early examples sealed against water; the spelling stays regular throughout, which keeps the trap small.

How the word is built

• wash (Old English wascan: to clean with water)
• -er (agent/instrument suffix)