# washing

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈwɒʃ.ɪŋ/ · frequency rank #5,850

## Definitions
1. The action of the verb to wash
2. Clothing, bedlinen or soft furnishings that have been, are currently being, or are to be washed; laundry.
3. The residue after an ore, etc, has been washed
4. The liquid used to wash an ore.
5. A place where a precious metal found in gravel is separated from lighter material by washing.
6. A thin covering or coat.
7. A fraudulent transaction in which the same stock is simultaneously bought and sold for the purpose of manipulating the market.
8. The covering of a piece with an infusible powder, which prevents it from sticking to its supports, while receiving the glaze.

## Etymology
From Middle English waschynge, weschynge, from Old English *weasċing, *wæsċing (attested in weasċingweġ), from Proto-West Germanic *waskingu, equivalent to wash + -ing. Cognate with Saterland Frisian Waaskenge (“washing”), West Frisian wasking (“washing”), Dutch wassing (“washing”), German Waschung (“washing”).

## Easily confused with
- **waving** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/washing-vs-waving)
- **waxing** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/washing-vs-waxing)
- **wasting** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/washing-vs-wasting)
- **wishing** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/washing-vs-wishing)
- **watching** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/washing-vs-watching)
- **waking** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/waking-vs-washing)
- **wading** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wading-vs-washing)
- **waning** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/waning-vs-washing)
- **waring** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/waring-vs-washing)
- **waiting** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/waiting-vs-washing)
- **walking** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/walking-vs-washing)
- **warning** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/warning-vs-washing)
- **wanting** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wanting-vs-washing)
- **warming** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/warming-vs-washing)
- **warring** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/warring-vs-washing)
- **wailing** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wailing-vs-washing)
- **wagging** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wagging-vs-washing)
- **warping** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/warping-vs-washing)
- **walling** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/walling-vs-washing)

## Common misspellings (11)
`awshing`, `wahsing`, `washhing`, `washign`, `washingg`, `washinng`, `washnig`, `wasihng`, `wasshing`, `wsahing`, `wwashing`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/washing