- present participle of rub.
rubbing
Americannoun
-
rubbings
plural
-
an act or action of a person or thing that rubs.
-
an impression of an incised or sculptured surface made by laying paper over it and rubbing with heelball, graphite, or a similar substance until the image appears.
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of rubbing
Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400; see origin at rub, -ing 1
Vocabulary lists containing rubbing
Visual Arts - Introductory
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Visual Arts - High School
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Visual Arts - Middle School
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Bancroft was caught rubbing sandpaper on the ball the same day.
From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026
In the kitchen, Gruel recommends rubbing it with avocado oil, salt and fresh herbs.
From Salon ● Aug. 5, 2026
So is rubbing animal fat on your face worth it?
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 27, 2026
It may even put your digital self on the field and make you part of the competition, rubbing virtual shoulders with your favorite players.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 12, 2026
We run as fast as we can through the alleyways, the cobblestones rubbing against the soles of my shoes.
From "Across So Many Seas" by Ruth Behar
Similarly, a study published in May in the journal Communications Biology found that elephants form complex "sentences" through their various rumbles, ear flags, trunk rubbings and other actions.
From Salon ● Jul. 31, 2024
Dwan also took up painting, making one series from tree rubbings.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 17, 2022
In New York, the quietist impulse hit a bump: paintings were based on rubbings he made of Manhattan sewer grates and manhole covers.
From New York Times ● Dec. 16, 2021
In 2016 graphic designer Marina Willer created a booklet of neon rubbings; manhole colouring books are available for people seeking mindfulness; and a Shoreditch company offers framed prints of rubbings for £80.
From BBC ● May 14, 2021
“Now those are some names you don’t see very often these days,” one of the chaperones, passing by and looking down at his rubbings, remarks.
From "The Namesake" by Jhumpa Lahiri
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
