to wax
- verb
- /wæks/
- Boy, did he keep that car waxed until it gleamed.
- waxed paper
- waxed cardboard
- waxed cloth
Examples
-
She decided to wax the wooden table to give it a nice shine.
-
Ultimately, after rinsing the floors with clean water, we waxed and buffed them.
Academic text (2007) -
Probably have you wax a car or something.
-
Actually, I never ever wax my upper lip.
-
I'd wash and wax the car, and she would grade her papers and cook and spend the rest of the day reading.
-
What'd you do, wax your whole face?
-
Floors are to be washed and waxed.
-
Toni liked the kitchen, which was spacious, with waxed green linoleum on the floor and wainscoting painted white.
Fiction book (1997) -
I need to wax the car to protect the paint from scratches.
-
Before winter, it's a good idea to wax your skis for better performance.
Synonyms
To cover a surface with a smooth shiny liquid that dries hard, for example on food or pottery
To cover something with a new outer layer
To cover something with a hard shiny coating to protect it and make it shine
To put a clear hard shiny layer on wood to protect it and make it shine
To cover a surface with a hard shiny layer for protection or decoration
Cover something with a shiny protective finish made from a natural hard substance
To make a surface smooth and shiny by rubbing or polishing
To polish a car or bike with wax to make it shiny and protect it
To give a smooth shiny surface by adding a glossy coat
To cover a surface with beeswax to protect it and make it shine
Antonyms
Idioms
Phrasal Verbs
Compounds
White solid made from oil in the ground used to make candles and preserve or coat things
- US
A shrub or small tree with fragrant leaves and small berries with a shiny covering
- Specialized
A hard plant wax from the leaves of a shrub used in cosmetics, food, and polishes
- Specialized
A natural waxy mineral found with oil used to make candles and other wax products
- Indian
A natural material that Indian and African bees make and people use for candles and cosmetics
- Specialized
A hard cream-colored wax from a fig tree in Java that people use in cosmetics and polishes
- Specialized
A natural wax from plantain leaves that gives a shiny, water resistant coating
- Specialized
Partly refined paraffin wax made when oil is processed and used in industry
- Specialized
A hard natural wax removed from shellac and used in polishes and cosmetics
A climbing plant with thick, shiny leaves and clusters of pink and white star-shaped flowers
- Specialized
A group of flowering shrubs and small trees with scented leaves often in wetlands
A small evergreen tree with shiny pointed leaves and long upright flower clusters
How Coated
Surface Forms
Etymology
Wax meaning 'to cover with wax' comes from the older noun wax, the soft substance bees make, and people began to use that noun as a verb for the action of putting the substance on things. So to wax your skis or car is simply to 'put wax on' them to protect or polish them.