Definition of "ablution"

The act of washing something.

1. (chemistry) Originally, the purifying of oils and other substances by emulsification with hot water; now more generally, a thorough cleansing of a precipitate or other non-dissolved substance.  examples

2. The act of washing or cleansing the body, or some part of it, as a religious rite.  quotations  examples

   Quotations

   • Let water be brought to perform my ablutions, and let the pious Fakreddin be called to offer up his prayers with mine.

     1786, William Beckford, Vathek; an Arabian Tale

3. (literary or humorous, usually in the plural) Washing oneself; bathing, cleaning oneself up.  quotations  examples

   Quotations

   • He followed the steps of Bella, who soon conducted him to his chamber, and left him to those ablutions which a long ride along a sandy road had rendered particularly necessary.

     1835, William Gilmore Simms, The Partisan, Harper, Chapter II, page 25

   • She treats him not as a doddering old fool but as a man hampered in his movements by injury. Patiently, without baby-talk, she helps him through his ablutions.

     2005, J. M. Coetzee, “Four”, in Slow Man, New York: Viking, page 28

   • There are now indications that it has caused some Americans to become more spartan when it comes to ablutions.

     2021 May 6, Maria Cramer, “See Fewer People. Take Fewer Showers.”, in The New York Times‎

4. (Western Christianity) The rinsing of the priest's hand and the sacred vessel following the Communion with, depending on rite, water or a mix of it and wine, which may then be drunk by the priest.  examples

The liquid used in the cleansing or ablution.  quotations  examples

(Eastern Orthodoxy) The ritual consumption by the deacon or priest of leftover sacred wine of host after the Communion.  examples

(plural only, UK, military) The location or building where the showers and basins are located.