washtub

nounC1Rare in speech; mostly a word you read · #14,068 of 15,258neutral

A washtub is a large tub for washing clothes in. Fill the washtub.

It was the whole of laundry before machines, together with a board and a mangle. A washtub was also played as an instrument in skiffle bands, with one string and a broom handle.

Definitions of washtub

1nounwashtubA large tub for washing clothes in.C1
“The washtub stood in the yard from March to October.”

washtub is a tub.

Where it comes from

From wash + tub.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practise this word

washtub in the wild

The washtub bass, or gutbucket, is a stringed instrument used in American folk music that uses a metal washtub as a resonator.
Washtub bass
The washtub bass was used in jug bands that were popular in some African-American communities in the early 1900s.
Washtub bass
The band featured harmonica, kazoo, fiddle, and mandolin or banjolin, backed by guitar, piano, washboard, washtub bass, and jug.
Memphis Jug Band
Richmond was a washtub bassist and was also a professional jug player.
Fritz Richmond
The Lost & Wandering Blues and Jazz Band was a group of street musicians playing a variety of musical styles on washtub bass, trumpet, and guitar.
The Lost Wandering Blues and Jazz Band

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From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

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