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to prewash

to prewash

1 3.2
To wash something briefly before the main wash to remove dirt or stains
  • verb
  • /ˈpriˌwɔʃ/
translation icon : prelavar
  • prewashed spinach
  • prewashed baby spinach
  • prewashed salad

Examples

  • "Middle-class or better-paid workers sometimes can buy their way out of the time crunch by using time- and labor-saving alternatives such as prewashed salad greens or precooked meals or by eating out," Devine explains.

    Academic text (2005)
  • You should prewash the vegetables to remove any dirt before cooking them.

  • For convenience, I always prewash the fruits before putting them in the fridge.

  • Many people choose to prewash their produce to ensure it is clean and safe to eat.

How Clean

to sanitize
  • US
11 3.7
wash
89 1.0
to prewash
1 3.2
to rinse
83 1.0
to dust
66 1.0

Surface Forms

prewash infinitive
prewashed past
prewashed past participle
prewashing present participle
prewashes third person singular

Morphology

prewash = wash (transparent) = pre + wash

The verb is formed regularly from 'pre-' plus 'wash' with the literal meaning 'wash beforehand'.

Etymology

Prewash comes from the parts pre- 'before' and wash 'to clean'. So to prewash something is to wash it briefly 'before' the main washing, to get rid of heavy dirt or stains.