ash

ash — noun

1. fine grey dust, sometimes very dark, that you find sitting in a fireplace, ashtr

1.nounB2
Definition

fine grey dust, sometimes very dark, that you find sitting in a fireplace, ashtray, or stove once the wood, coal, or tobacco inside it has finished burning.

Example

Wren knelt by the fireplace and swept the cold ash into a metal bucket.

uncountable: cold/wet/fine ash

A thin layer of cigarette ash had fallen onto the wooden table.

collocation: cigarette ash

Common collocations
  • fine ash
  • hot ash
  • cigarette ash
  • volcanic ash
  • sweep up the ash
Synonyms
  • cinders

    small partly burned pieces, slightly larger and chunkier than fine ash

  • soot

    the black powder that sticks to chimneys and surfaces, formed by smoke rather than left as residue

Usage Note

Almost always uncountable in this sense. Common modifiers describe colour, temperature, or origin: cigarette ash, volcanic ash, fine ash, hot ash. The plural ashes belongs to sense 2 (cremated remains) or to sense 3 of the verb-related fixed phrases.

Common Mistakes

Three ashes fell from his cigarette.
Some ash fell from his cigarette.
the residue is uncountable; use 'some ash' or 'a bit of ash', not a number plus 'ashes'.

2. the powdery remains of someone whose body was burned in a cremation, or of a bui

2.nounB2
Definition

the powdery remains of someone whose body was burned in a cremation, or of a building, forest, or city wiped out by fire; usually kept in an urn or scattered at a meaningful place.

Example

The family scattered Grandpa's ashes from a small boat off the coast of Penghu.

plural: someone's ashes; collocation: scatter the ashes

Jamal kept his mother's ashes in a small wooden urn on the bookshelf.

collocation: keep the ashes in an urn

Common collocations
  • scatter someone's ashes
  • bury the ashes
  • her ashes were laid to rest
  • reduced to ashes
Synonyms
  • remains

    broader term covering bones, ashes, or any traces of a dead body

  • cinders

    occasionally used for what is left of a destroyed building, but not for human remains

Grammar Patterns

someone's ashes

scatter the ashes

Usage Note

Used in the plural (ashes) when referring to a person's cremated remains or to what is left after a building or city has burned down. Distinguish from sense 1 (uncountable powder from any small fire): you sweep up ash from a fireplace, but you scatter someone's ashes.

Common Mistakes

They scattered her ash at sea.
They scattered her ashes at sea.
for cremated remains, the plural form 'ashes' is fixed.

3. a tall deciduous tree, common in European woods, that has smooth grey bark, clus

3.nounC1
Definition

a tall deciduous tree, common in European woods, that has smooth grey bark, clusters of small green flowers, and seeds that hang in winged bunches.

Example

A row of tall ash trees lined the path from the village to the church.

often 'ash tree' to clarify the meaning

The old ash beside the pond was over two hundred years old.

Common collocations
  • ash tree
  • tall ash
  • young ash
  • plant an ash
  • row of ashes

Usage Note

Often appears as 'ash tree' in writing to avoid confusion with sense 1 (the burnt powder). The plural is 'ash trees' or 'ashes' (rare and chiefly literary). Distinguish from sense 4, which refers to the wood cut from this tree.

4. the strong, springy, pale-coloured timber cut from the ash tree, prized for furn

4.nounC1
Definition

the strong, springy, pale-coloured timber cut from the ash tree, prized for furniture, tool handles, hockey sticks, and traditional baseball bats.

Example

The kitchen table was made of solid ash with a clear oil finish.

material noun: made of ash

Renata prefers ash for the handles of her garden tools because it bends without breaking.

Common collocations
  • solid ash
  • made of ash
  • ash handle
  • ash flooring
  • ash bat
Synonyms
  • hickory

    another tough, springy hardwood used for tool handles; American rather than European

  • oak

    harder and heavier; used where strength matters more than spring

Usage Note

Uncountable, like other timber names (oak, pine, maple). Distinguish from sense 3 (the living tree): a furniture-maker says 'a chair made of ash' (the wood) but plants 'an ash' (the tree). Often paired with verbs like carve, plane, turn, sand.

5. a soft, pale grey shade with no warmth or pink tint, often used to describe pain

5.nounC2
Definition

a soft, pale grey shade with no warmth or pink tint, often used to describe paint, hair dye, or fabric.

Example

Anaya dyed her hair a cool ash and posted a photo on her blog.

modifier of dye, paint, or finish colour

The bedroom walls were painted a pale ash that matched the linen curtains.

Common collocations
  • ash-blonde
  • ash-grey
  • ash-brown
  • pale ash
Synonyms
  • grey

    broader colour term; ash specifies a cool, pale version with no red

  • pewter

    darker and more metallic; used mainly for finishes and decor

Usage Note

Most often appears as a compound modifier such as 'ash-blonde', 'ash-grey', or 'ash-brown' rather than as a stand-alone noun. The colour is defined by what it lacks (no red, no warmth) rather than what it contains.

6. the small trophy played for in the long-running Test cricket series between the

6.nounC2
Definition

the small trophy played for in the long-running Test cricket series between the England and Australia men's teams, traditionally said to hold the burnt remains of a cricket bail.

Example

England won back the Ashes at Lord's in front of a packed crowd.

always capitalised: 'the Ashes'

Captain Smith lifted the Ashes urn above his head while the Sydney crowd roared from the stands.

Common collocations
  • win the Ashes
  • lose the Ashes
  • hold the Ashes
  • Ashes Test
  • Ashes series

Usage Note

Always capitalised and preceded by 'the': the Ashes. Although the trophy itself is small, the word is used both for the urn and for the whole Test series. Common in British and Australian sports writing; unfamiliar to most American readers.

Common Mistakes

England won the ash last summer.
England won the Ashes last summer.
the cricket trophy is always 'the Ashes', plural and capitalised.

7. a charity, written as the abbreviation of Action on Smoking & Health, that lobbi

7.nounC2
Definition

a charity, written as the abbreviation of Action on Smoking & Health, that lobbies governments and the public to cut down tobacco use and protect non-smokers.

Example

ASH welcomed the new ban on smoking in outdoor restaurant seating.

all caps when standing for the organisation

Dr. Hannah Lee, speaking for ASH outside Westminster, urged MPs to back the new tobacco display ban.

Common collocations
  • ASH spokesperson
  • according to ASH
  • ASH campaign

Usage Note

Written in all capitals (ASH) to mark it as an abbreviation, which separates it visually from the everyday noun 'ash'. Treated as a singular noun ('ASH says...', 'ASH has called for...').

Idioms

wear, put on, etc. sackcloth and ashes

idiom

To show publicly that you feel very sorry for something wrong you did.

After the scandal, the mayor wore sackcloth and ashes in a press conference.

Mina put on sackcloth and ashes when she realized her mistake had hurt others.

ash — verb

ash — idiom

Word family

  • ashen
    adjectiveC2
  • ashy
    adjectiveC2
  • ashtray
    nounB2
  • ash-blonde
    adjectiveC2
  • Ash Wednesday
    nounC1

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

All four words describe what fire leaves behind, but they differ in size, state, and where you find them. Ash is the finest material — soft, dry, powdery grey or black dust that you sweep out of a fireplace or shake from a cigarette. Cinders are larger, chunkier pieces of partly burned material; they may still be warm or look like small black stones underfoot at a barbecue site. Embers are the glowing red-hot pieces of wood or coal that remain in a dying fire and can still light kindling. Soot, by contrast, is not residue from the bottom of a fire but the black powder produced by smoke that sticks to chimneys, walls, and ceilings. So a chimney sweep cleans soot from the flue, a gardener shovels cool ash and cinders onto the compost heap, and a camper warms his hands over the last orange embers.

ash ↗cinderssootembers

Common collocations

Nouns

  • ash tray
  • ash cloud
  • ash pile
  • ash heap

Adverbs

  • completely (ashed)
  • thoroughly (burnt to ash)

Phrases

  • reduce something to ash
  • burn to ashes
  • covered in ash
  • a layer of ash

Prepositions

  • into ash
  • to ash
  • of ash
  • from the ashes

Etymology

Proto-GermanicOld EnglishMiddle EnglishModern English

Two unrelated words have ended up sharing a single spelling in modern English. The 'burnt residue' sense traces back to Old English 'æsce', a word also found in Old High German 'asca' and Old Norse 'aska', all going back to a Germanic root for fire-residue. The 'tree' sense comes from a separate Old English word 'æsc', from Proto-Germanic '*askaz', cognate with German 'Esche'. The two were spelled differently in early English but converged on the same form by the late Middle English period, which is why a learner today meets one short word covering everything from cigarette ash to a tall woodland tree.