car wash

noun

1
: an area or structure equipped with facilities for washing automobiles
2
US : an event at which people pay to have their cars washed to raise money for some purpose

Examples of car wash in a Sentence

Our church is having a car wash tomorrow from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
For Bela Bajaria, the road to Hollywood power started at a car wash. — Preston Fore, Fortune, 29 May 2026 Frisbie operates a series of gas stations in Connecticut, some with a car wash or Frisbee’s ice cream shop. — Don Stacom, Hartford Courant, 11 June 2026 With the rezoning approval, the developer has plans to build a Sheetz gas station, convenience store, and car wash. — Adam Thompson, CBS News, 10 June 2026 Members will earn at least 3 cents per gallon in points on gas (6 cents on premium gas) and 2 cents in points on every purchase of snacks, drinks, car washes and more. — Ryley Amond, CNBC, 1 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for car wash

Word History

First Known Use

1915, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of car wash was in 1915

Rhymes for car wash

See All Rhymes for car wash

Browse Nearby Words

carvotanacetone
car wash
car whacker
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Car wash.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/car%20wash. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
hangman letters and game
Hangman Lightning Round Figure out which word fits in the blanks.
See All