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Withstand multiple washings
Withstand multiple washes

I've seen washings and washes used interchangeably. "Washes" is a verb and "washings" is a noun. Are there any specific circumstances that one is preferred over another? Are they both grammatically correct?

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    Washes is not a verb in this context, but the plural of wash, an act of washing.
    – Kate Bunting
    Commented Jun 3, 2021 at 7:48
  • Thanks @KateBunting Are both sentences grammatically correct and referred to the same thing?
    – FlyingPenguin
    Commented Jun 3, 2021 at 8:31

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I've never heard 'washings' used the way you suggest... even in detergent commercials, they'll talk about "multiple washes" to refer to an instance of a machine wash.

"Washes" is the plural of the noun "wash". "Washing" is a verb, but you can, in some contexts, refer to an instance of washing as "a washing". So it wouldn't be wrong to say "multiple washings", if you were focusing on counting the actions. But it could still sound weird - imagine if someone said "I've had 5 bathings this week", and not "5 baths". Saying "bathing" sounds like someone else has bathed you.

I've just tried a search of "multiple washings" and I don't really agree with the grammar of the few instances I found. The first result I found is talking about an item having "durability to multiple washings". That preposition "to" just doesn't work with 'durability'. We say something has resistance to things, but 'durability' is a quality. Basically, the whole sentence is rubbish, so I don't trust the use of "multiple washings" either.

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  • Thanks. A google search brings out many references of "multiple washings" but maybe not in the context that I cited?
    – FlyingPenguin
    Commented Jun 3, 2021 at 9:21
  • "a washing" is something I'd readily understand as meaning "an instance of performing the act of washing", with "multiple washings" meaning "multiple instances of performing the act of washing". It's possible to generate similar forms from other verbs, for example a hotel booking (in the sense of the act of booking a room at a hotel).
    – Steve
    Commented Jun 3, 2021 at 9:28
  • @FlyingPenguin I've just tried a search myself and I only found rubbish. I've updated my answer.
    – Astralbee
    Commented Jun 3, 2021 at 10:55

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