Meaning & use
how to handwash
Last updated
Meanings
phrasefixed phrase
the instructions or method for cleaning your hands with soap and water.
Grammar: Used as a heading or after verbs like 'know', 'learn', 'show': learn how to handwash.
Patterns
- know how to handwash
- learn how to handwash
- show someone how to handwash
The nurse showed the new parents how to handwash before touching the baby.
There is a short video that explains how to handwash properly.
If you are not sure how to handwash, follow the steps on the poster.
phrasefixed phrase
used as a title for a set of steps that teach correct hand cleaning.
Grammar: Common as a heading on signs, posters and web pages; no article is used.
Patterns
- How to Handwash (heading)
The clinic put a sign reading 'How to Handwash' above every sink.
Her school project was called 'How to Handwash in Five Steps'.
Common combinations
- how to handwash properly
- The leaflet explains how to handwash properly with soap and running water.
- learn how to handwash
- Children learn how to handwash at nursery school.
- how to handwash your hands
- He asked the pharmacist how to handwash your hands when no soap is available.
- a guide on how to handwash
- The health office published a guide on how to handwash at home.
Synonyms and how they differ
- handwashing
- This is the noun for the action or habit; use it when you talk about the practice itself, not the instructions.
- wash your hands
- A plain verb phrase that simply describes the act; 'how to handwash' focuses on the correct method.
Word family
- handwash verb
- to clean something, especially clothes or your hands, by hand rather than in a machine.
- handwashing noun
- the act or habit of cleaning your hands with soap and water.
- handwash noun
- a liquid soap made for washing hands.
Commonly confused: how to handwash or hand wash?
how to handwash vs hand wash
As two words it is usually a verb phrase ('hand wash the delicates') or a noun for hand soap; the one-word 'handwash' is the same idea written tightly.
Practice
Which sentence uses the phrase correctly?
Choose one answer.
After 'how to' we need the base verb, so 'handwash' is correct. 'Handwashing' is a noun or -ing form, 'handwashed' is past tense, and 'handwashes' is third-person singular, so none of them fits after 'to'.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “how to handwash”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.