Plural of “brush”

The plural of brush is brushes.

Why

"Brush" entered Middle English from Old French "broisse" or "brousse," itself of uncertain deeper origin, possibly related to words for brushwood used to make early sweeping tools. As with "wish," the noun's sibilant "-sh" ending requires the standard -es plural for pronounceability.

The word carries at least three genuinely distinct senses that all pluralize identically: a tool for painting or grooming (paintbrushes, hairbrushes), an area of dense undergrowth or scrubland ("brush" as terrain, as in "brushes" in older or regional usage though this sense is now often treated as uncountable), and a brief unwanted encounter ("a brush with danger," "several brushes with the law") — three quite different meanings sharing one plural form.

Usage note

"Brushes" is overwhelmingly used for the tool sense and the "close encounter" figurative sense in everyday writing; the terrain sense of "brush" (scrubby vegetation) is typically treated as a mass noun without a plural at all ("the brush was thick" rather than "the brushes were thick"), so writers should be cautious about pluralizing that particular sense.

As a verb, "to brush" takes this same ending in the third person singular ("she brushes her hair every morning"), one more instance of the sibilant spelling rule threading through both a noun's plural and a related verb's inflection. In wildfire management specifically, "brush" as terrain is treated carefully as uncountable in official reports ("brush density," "brush clearance") to avoid the ambiguity that would come from trying to count individual patches of scrubland, while the tool sense of "brushes" causes no such difficulty since individual brushes are naturally distinct, countable objects.

Common real mistakes

Writers occasionally drop the -e and write "brushs" — incorrect, since the sibilant "-sh" ending always requires "-es." A separate, more conceptual error is pluralizing the uncountable terrain sense of "brush" when a mass-noun construction would be more standard.

The wider pattern

Alongside "wish" and "dress," "brush" shows the same purely mechanical sibilant spelling rule at work, with its main point of interest being how many genuinely different senses of one short word all share a single, unremarkable plural form. Wildland firefighting crews classify vegetation into distinct fuel types, with "brush" specifically referring to dense shrubby growth that burns differently than grass or timber, a technical distinction that keeps the mass-noun sense of "brush" precise and consistent across fire behavior reports nationwide.

Examples

• She kept three brushes in her toolbox for different paint textures.
• The salon has dozens of brushes organized by bristle type.
• He's had several close brushes with disaster while rock climbing.
• Both brushes were worn down after years of daily use.
• The artist cleaned her brushes carefully at the end of every session.
• Firefighters cleared brushes and dry grass along the ridge before summer.
• Her makeup kit included specialized brushes for every part of the face.
• The old barn stored brushes, rakes, and other tools from decades past.
• He's had a few brushes with the law but nothing serious.
• The exhibit displayed antique brushes once used by famous painters.
• The painter switched between several brushes depending on the texture needed.
• Firefighters cut firebreaks through dry brushes surrounding the town.
• Her makeup collection included brushes she'd owned for over a decade.
• The hardware store restocked brushes ahead of the spring painting season.
• Fire crews cleared brushes and dead undergrowth along the ridge line.
• The artist kept dozens of brushes organized by size and bristle stiffness.
• Her toolkit included specialty brushes for detailed miniature painting.
• The hardware store's brushes ranged from cheap disposables to professional-grade sets.
• The studio kept specialty brushes reserved for restoration work alone.
• Firefighters monitored the dry brushes closely during the heat wave.
• The conservators used soft brushes to clean the centuries-old painting.
• Controlled burns cleared brushes that had built up over several dry seasons.