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Glite Dictionary
washing soda

washing soda

15 3.7
A white powder that cleans clothes and removes grease
  • noun
  • /ˈwɔʃɪŋ ˈsoʊdə/
  • Specialized
translation icon : carbonato de sodio
  • I pour the liquid Joy over a cup of washing soda and stir it well.
  • borax and washing soda

Examples

  • Before cleaning the stains, I mixed water with washing soda to make a paste.

  • The recipe I am going to try uses bar soap, washing soda, borax, and water.

    Blog text (18)

  • Mix the Joy with one cup of washing soda and let dry.

    Blog text (18)

  • Right now, I just use equal parts of Borax and washing soda in my laundry.

    Blog text (18)

  • Pour into a large bowl with the Borax and washing soda and stir until combined.

    Blog text (18)

  • Just some clarification for those of you asking about washing soda, borax, and the safety of handling them.

    Blog text (18)

  • Add the cup of Borax and the cup of washing soda to the grated soap.

    Blog text (18)

  • Martha Stewart recommends both washing soda and Borax as laundry boosters when washing diapers.

    Blog text (18)

  • I use washing soda to boost my laundry detergent's cleaning power.

  • The recipe for homemade glass cleaner includes washing soda to help remove smudges.

Synonyms

soda
vswashing soda
  • Specialized
96 2.9

A white chemical that helps make soap, glass, and paper

is presented as a specific product compound rather than a general chemical description
soda ash
vswashing soda
  • Specialized
1 6.0

A white powder used to make soap, glass, and paper

is described as a crystalline form used in household cleaning and glassmaking
sodium carbonate
vswashing soda
  • Specialized
1 3.9

A white powder people use for cleaning and for making glass and soap

is the common household product name rather than the technical chemical label
sal soda
vswashing soda
  • Archaic
9.9

A white powder that dissolves in water and is used to make soap, glass, and paper

is the modern common trade term used for household cleaning products

How Alkaline

caustic potash
  • Specialized
1 7.0
lye
  • Specialized
14 8.8
washing soda
  • Specialized
15 3.7
neutrality
  • Specialized
5.3

Surface Forms

washing soda singular
washing sodas plural

Morphology

washing + soda

The compound is directly compositional: 'washing' (cleaning) specifies the purpose/use of 'soda' (an alkaline compound), yielding 'a soda used for washing/cleaning.' This modifier+noun pattern is regular and cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents can infer the meaning.

Etymology

Washing soda gets its name from what it does: washing means 'cleaning' and soda was once a common word for a cleaning salt. This strong cleaning chemical, sodium carbonate, was used to help remove grease and stains from clothes, so the name now means that cleaning powder.