ash

Từ điển Oxford Advanced Learner 8th

ash [ash ashes] BrE [æʃ] NAmE [æʃ] noun
1. uncountable the grey or black powder that is left after sth, especially ↑tobacco, wood or coal, has burnt
•cigarette ash
•black volcanic ash
•She flicked ash out of the window carelessly.
2. ashesplural what is left after sth has been destroyed by burning
•The town was reduced to ashes in the fighting.
•the glowing ashes of the campfire
• (figurative)The party had risen, like a phoenix, from the ashes of electoral disaster.
•She had seen all her dreams turn to ashes.
3. ashesplural the powder that is left after a dead person's body has been cremated (= burned)
•She wanted her ashes to be scattered at sea.
4. countable, uncountable (also ˈash tree)a forest tree with grey ↑bark
see also ↑mountain ash
5. uncountable the hard pale wood of the ↑ash tree
6. (technical)the letter æ, used in Old English, and as a ↑phonetic symbol to represent the vowel sound in cat
see wear, put on, etc. sackcloth and ashes at ↑sackcloth

Word Origin:
senses 1 to 3 Old English æsce aexe Germanic Dutch as German Asche senses 4 to 5 Old English æsc Germanic Dutch es German Esche

Example Bank:
•All her dreams had turned to ashes.
•Ash from the volcano fell over a wide area.
•Fine ash covered the hill near the volcano.
•He flicked ash into the ashtray.
•His ashes were scattered on his beloved farm.
•The fire had died to cold ashes.
•The party had risen from the ashes of electoral disaster.
•a town reduced to ashes by war
•the glowing ashes of the dying fire