Wash your hands before eating your meal.

Meaning: This sentence is instructing someone to clean their hands before eating a meal.

Choice of Words: Wash means to clean something with water and soap. Hands are the parts of the body at the end of the arms. Before means earlier in time or order. Eating is the act of consuming food or drink. Meal is a set of food eaten at one time.

Alternative Expressions

Cleanse your mitts prior to consuming your sustenance.

Meaning: This sentence means the same thing as the first sentence, but it uses more formal language.

Choice of Words: Cleanse is a more formal word for wash. Mitts is a slang term for hands. Prior is a more formal word for before. Consuming is a more formal word for eating. Sustenance is a more formal word for meal.

Make sure your hands are clean before you eat.

Meaning: This sentence means the same thing as the first sentence, but it is more concise.

Choice of Words: Make sure means to ensure that something is true or correct. Clean means free from dirt or germs. Before is an adverb that means earlier in time or in order. You is a pronoun that refers to the person who is being spoken to. Eat is a verb that means to put food into your mouth and swallow it.

Related Expressions