ashes

IPA/ˈaʃɪz/
KK[ˈæʃəz]IPA/ˈæʃəz/

ashes — noun

1. the soft grey or black powder that stays behind after wood, coal, paper, or othe

1.nounB1
Definition

the soft grey or black powder that stays behind after wood, coal, paper, or other materials have been completely burned

Example

Ryo swept the grey ash out of the fireplace and into a metal bucket.

collocation: sweep ash / ash from a fireplace

Devika tipped the ashtray into the bin, raising a puff of grey ash.

collocation: empty an ashtray / ash from smoking

Common collocations
  • sweep ash
  • ash from the fireplace
  • wood ash
  • ash tray
  • coat of ash
  • pile of ash
Synonyms
  • cinders

    harder, partly burned pieces rather than soft powder; still retain some shape

  • soot

    fine black powder that sticks to surfaces, produced by incomplete burning rather than complete combustion

Usage Note

This sense is typically uncountable (ash not ashes) when referring to the substance itself. The plural form 'ashes' can also be used for the same meaning, especially when talking about a large quantity or scattered pieces.

Common Mistakes

There was a lot of ashes in the fireplace.
There was a lot of ash in the fireplace.
When referring to the substance in general, use the uncountable singular 'ash' rather than the plural 'ashes'.

2. the light grey powder that is left after a dead person's body has been cremated,

2.nounB2
Definition

the light grey powder that is left after a dead person's body has been cremated, often kept in a container called an urn or scattered in a place that was meaningful to the person

Example

Talia scattered her grandmother's ashes along the river where the old woman had walked as a child.

collocation: scatter ashes

Amani's family placed her ashes in a simple wooden urn on the mantelpiece above the fireplace.

collocation: place/keep ashes in an urn

Common collocations
  • scatter ashes
  • collect ashes
  • keep ashes
  • ashes in an urn
  • spread ashes
  • divide ashes
Synonyms
  • remains

    more general term that can include the body before cremation or buried bones; 'ashes' specifically means cremated remains

Usage Note

This sense always uses the plural form 'ashes'. Unlike sense 1, the uncountable singular 'ash' is never used for cremated human remains. Common verbs include 'scatter', 'spread', 'collect', 'keep', and 'place'.

Common Mistakes

His ash was kept in an urn.
His ashes were kept in an urn.
Cremated human remains are always referred to using the plural 'ashes', never the singular 'ash'.

3. very small pieces of rock, minerals, and volcanic glass that are thrown into the

3.nounB1
Definition

very small pieces of rock, minerals, and volcanic glass that are thrown into the air when a volcano erupts and later fall back to the ground, sometimes covering large areas

Example

The eruption covered the entire village with a thick blanket of grey volcanic ash.

collocation: volcanic ash / blanket of ash

Felipe wore a protective mask to keep the volcanic ash out of his lungs while he cleared the driveway.

Common collocations
  • volcanic ash
  • ash cloud
  • blanket of ash
  • layer of ash
  • ash fall
Synonyms
  • tephra

    the scientific term for all material ejected by a volcano, including ash, larger rocks, and dust; 'ash' is the everyday word for the fine particles

Usage Note

Distinguish from sense 1: volcanic ash is a geological term for specific mineral particles ejected by a volcano, while sense 1 refers to the residue from burning organic materials. Volcanic ash also damages machinery and aircraft engines, which is why flights are cancelled during eruptions.

ashes — verb

ashes — idiom

Word family

  • ash
    nounB1
  • ashen
    adjectiveC1
  • ashy
    adjectiveC2

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Ash, cinder, soot, and charcoal are all dark substances left by fire, but they differ in composition and how they form. Ash is the soft, lightweight powder that remains after something has burned completely — for instance, the grey dust you sweep from a fireplace after a wood fire. Cinders are harder, more solid pieces of partly burned material, such as coal or wood that still has some of its original shape; you might find glowing cinders at the bottom of a campfire. Soot is a very fine black powder that sticks to chimneys, walls, and glass, created when fuel burns incompletely — it is the dark coating inside a candle jar or a stovepipe. Charcoal is the black, brittle carbon left when wood is heated in an oxygen-poor environment; it is not the same as ash because it can still be used as fuel. For example, after a barbecue you might have soft ash at the bottom, a few hard cinders that did not fully burn, a blackened grill coated in soot, and leftover charcoal briquettes that can be lit again.

ash ↗cinder ↗soot ↗charcoal ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • blanket of ash
  • pile of ash
  • layer of ash
  • ash and dust

Prepositions

Etymology

Old EnglishProto-GermanicGermanic

The word 'ash' comes from Old English 'æsce', which goes back to a Proto-Germanic root '*askōn'. This same root gave rise to Old Norse 'aska' and German 'Asche'. The plural form 'ashes' became the standard way to refer to the remains of a fire and, from the 19th century onward, the remains of a cremated human body. The cricket trophy 'the Ashes' dates from 1882, when a newspaper joked that English cricket was dead and would be cremated, with the ashes taken to Australia.

First known use

12th century

12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1 Verb