Housework · Home and routines

wipe down

clean a surface

To clean a surface by rubbing it with a cloth.

B1 common speech & writing

phrasal verb

wipe down

This vs that

cleaned it with a cloth

I wiped down the worktop.

rubbed it hard to remove stubborn dirt

I scrubbed the worktop.

Hear it in real life

Is the table ready for dinner?

Almost. I'll just wipe it down.

Play the conversation

I wiped down the worktops after cooking.

Which sounds natural?

Psst — which one would you actually say?

The mistake everyone makes

Not: I wipe the kitchen table with a ~~cloth down.~~

Say: I wipe down the kitchen table with a cloth.

Put 'down' after the object or before it in a phrasal-verb construction.

Build it

How it fits in a sentence.

wipe downobject; wipe something down

More for talking about housework.

put the washing on

I’ll put the washing on before we go out.

give it a wipe

Give the kitchen table a wipe after breakfast.

Home and routines · Housework: the words around “wipe down”.

More connectionsMore housework words8

Your turn: say it out loud

I'll just wipe down the table.

Say it out loud two or three times, until it feels like yours.

wipe down

clean a surface

“I wiped down the worktops after cooking.”

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