Washfast

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Describing fabric or dye that keeps its color and does not fade or bleed when repeatedly laundered in water
2. Able to hold its color through many washes without losing brightness or spreading onto other materials
3. Remaining bright and unchanged after laundering, so that the cloth or dye resists fading and running

Etymology: "Washfast" is a plain compound: "wash" joined to "fast," where "fast" in this sense means firmly fixed or not liable to change. A washfast fabric or dye keeps its colour through repeated laundering rather than bleeding out or fading. The adjective describes that quality in a textile or dye and is built on the same "fast" that appears in "colorfast" and "fast dye."

Synonyms: colorfast, fast