Sentence:  The washing process whereby soils are removed consists basically of applying mechanical action to loosen the dirt particles and dried matter in the presence of water which helps to float off the debris and acts , to <WSD>some</WSD> extent , as a dissolving and solvating agent . 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  quantifier; used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity