acepillar

To plane wood smooth with a carpenter's tool (acepillar una tabla) or to brush something, like clothes or hair, in some regions. The everyday, non-carpentry sense of 'to brush' is more commonly cepillar (without the a-).

• El carpintero acepilló la madera antes de barnizarla. — The carpenter planed the wood before varnishing it.
• Hay que acepillar bien la tabla para que quede lisa. — You need to plane the board well so it comes out smooth.
• En algunas zonas, acepillar el traje significa cepillarlo antes de guardarlo. — In some areas, 'acepillar' a suit means brushing it before putting it away.

For everyday brushing (hair, teeth, clothes) cepillar is by far the more common verb — acepillar leans toward the specific carpentry sense of planing wood.

Often confused with cepillar.