bürsten
brush
Man benutzt ein Werkzeug mit vielen festen Haaren, um etwas sauber zu machen oder Haare glatt zu kämmen.
Definition & meaning
bürsten means to brush: to clean, smooth, or groom something using a brush. It can refer to brushing hair, teeth, clothes, or a surface.
It can also mean to brush something off or away, especially when removing dust, dirt, or loose material.
Written with a capital letter, Bürsten can be the plural of Bürste , meaning “brushes,” or a nominalized infinitive meaning “brushing.”
Grammar & Word origin
bürsten is a regular (weak) verb. Its forms include bürstet (present tense), bürstete [?](vocabuo://word/bürstete] (simple past), and gebürstet (past participle).
It is formed from the noun Bürste (“brush”) and the verb ending -en.
Synonyms & antonyms
Possible synonyms vary by context:
- abbürsten means to brush something off, often to remove dirt or dust. It emphasizes removal more than general brushing.
- ausbürsten means to brush something out, such as dirt from fabric or tangles from hair.
- schrubben means to scrub, usually with more force and often with water or a cleaning product.
- kämmen means to comb hair; it is narrower than bürsten and refers to using a comb rather than a brush.
There is no single general antonym. In a cleaning context, verschmutzen [?](vocabuo://word/verschmutzen] (“to make dirty”) can express the opposite result, but it is not a direct opposite of the action of brushing.
Common phrases & collocations
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Examples
Ich bürste jeden Morgen meine Haare.verb
I brush my hair every morning.
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