shampoo

noun, verb — 7 senses

shampoo

noun

US /ʃæmˈpuː/ · UK /ʃamˈpuː/

Etymology From Hindi चाँपो (cā̃po) / चांपो (cāmpo), imperative form of चाँपना (cā̃pnā) / चांपना (cāmpnā, “to press, knead”), mid 18th c.

1

A traditional Indian and Persian body massage given after pouring warm water over the body and rubbing it with extracts from herbs.

2

A commercial liquid soaplike product for washing hair or other fibers, such as carpets.

  • These endocrine disruptors are everywhere: plastics, shampoos, cosmetics, cushions, pesticides, canned foods and A.T.M. receipts. They often aren’t on labels and can be difficult to avoid.2021 February 20, Nicholas Kristof, “What Are Sperm Telling Us?”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:
3

An instance of washing the hair or other fibres with shampoo.

  • I’m going to give the carpet a shampoo.
4

Humorous, Slang Champagne.

Derived terms
baby shampoo, overshampoo, reshampoo, shampooable, shampoo bowl, shampooey, shampoo ginger, shampoolike, wood shampoo

shampoo

verb

Etymology From Hindi चाँपो (cā̃po) / चांपो (cāmpo), imperative form of चाँपना (cā̃pnā) / चांपना (cāmpnā, “to press, knead”), mid 18th c.

1

To wash one's own hair with shampoo.

  • My neat-freak of a friend has been compulsively shampooing for every bath he has taken.
  • You then apply the conditioner mix to shampooed hair, from root to tip, and after 10 minutes, rinse out as normal.2021 November 6, Sali Hughes, “Colour me impressed: a brilliant new eco hair dye has hit the shelves”, in The Guardian:
1 more example
  • WellnessTok has done it again. After convincing people to shampoo once monthly and tan with nasal spray, it now has users asking: Is sunscreen bad for you?2024 June 21, Danielle Sinay, “Is Sunscreen Bad for You? TikTok’s Anti-SPF Movement, Explained”, in Glamour:
2

To wash (i.e. the hair, carpet, etc.) with shampoo.

  • Each pony had his sais, his groom, who lived and ate and slept with the animal, and had betted a good deal more than he could afford on the result of the game. There was no chance of anything going wrong, but to make sure, each sais was shampooing the legs of his pony to the last minute. Behind the saises sat as many of the Skidars' regiment as had leave to attend the match […]2010, Rudyard Kipling with James Daley, comp., “The Maltese Cat”, in Great Horse Stories, Mineola, N.Y.: Dover Publications, →ISBN, page 95:
3

To press or knead the whole surface of the body of (a person), and at the same time to stretch the limbs and joints, in connection with the hot bath.

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.

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