Noun

Singular brush

Plural brushes

brush (plural brushes)

1. An implement consisting of multiple more or less flexible bristles or other filaments attached to a handle, used for any of various purposes including cleaning, painting, and arranging hair.
2. A piece of conductive material, usually carbon, serving to maintain electrical contact between the stationary and rotating parts of a machine.
3. The act of brushing something.

   She gave her hair a quick brush.

4. (uncountable) Wild vegetation, generally larger than grass but smaller than trees.
5. A short and sometimes occasional encounter or experience.

   He has had brushes with communism from time to time.

6. The furry tail of an animal, especially of a fox.
7. (music) An instrument, resembling a brush, used to produce a soft sound from drums or cymbals.
8. (video games) In 3D video games, a convex polyhedron, esp. one that defines structure of the play area.
9. (poker) The floorperson of a poker room, usually in a casino.
10. (North Wisconsin, uncountable) Evergreen boughs, especially balsam, locally cut and baled for export, usually for use in wreathmaking.

The term brush refers to devices with bristles, wire or other filaments, used for cleaning, grooming hair, make up, painting, surface finishing and for many other purposes.

Configurations include twisted-in wire (e.g. bottle brushes), cylinders and disks (with bristles spread in one face or radially).

A common way of setting the bristle in the brush is the staple or anchor set brush, in which the filament is forced with a staple by the middle into a hole with a special driver and held there by the pressure against all of the walls of the hole and the portions of the staple nailed to the bottom of the hole. The staple can be replaced with a kind of anchor, which is a piece of rectangular profile wire that is anchored to the wall of the hole, like in most toothbrushes. Another way to attach the bristles to the surface can be found in the fused brush, in which instead of being inserted into a hole, a plastic fiber is welded to another plastic surface, giving the option to use different diameters of bristles in the same brush

Brushes for cleaning

Brushes used for cleaning come in various sizes. They vary in size from a that of a toothbrush, to the standard household version accompanied by a dustpan, to 36" deck brushes. There are brushes for cleaning tiny cracks and crevices and brushes for cleaning enormous warehouse floors. Brushes perform a multitude of cleaning tasks. For example, brushes lightly dust the tiniest figurine, they help scrub stains out of clothing and shoes, they remove grime from tires, and they remove the dirt and debris found on floors with the help of a dust pan. Many kinds of specialty brushes are used for cleaning vegetables, cleaning the toilet, washing glass, finishing tiles, and sanding doors.