dubbin

[ duhb-in ]

/ ˈdʌb ɪn /

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noun

a mixture of tallow and oil used in dressing leather.

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Also dubbing.

Origin of dubbin

1815–25; variant of gerund of dub¹ (in the sense “rubbing or smoothing leather or wood”)

Words nearby dubbin

Dubai, Du Barry, Dubawnt, dubbed, dubbeltje, dubbin, dubbing, Dubbo, Dubček, du Bellay, Dubhe

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use dubbin in a sentence

We don't polish steel, but there is a wonderful lot of hard work in rubbing dubbin into all the leather.
In the Ranks of the C.I.V.|Erskine Childers
The final process was to give the field shoe a thorough coat of waterproof dubbin.
America's Munitions 1917-1918|Benedict Crowell
I love the smell of the leather and the sight of all those sharp little knives, and the black, shiny 'dubbin,' do you call it?
Young Lives|Richard Le Gallienne
I only 'ad a little wound in me 'and, an' I used ter plug it wi' dubbin' an' boot-polish ter keep it raw.
Combed Out|Fritz August Voigt

The dubbin is brushed thickly on to the flesh side of the sammed leather, which is then hung up to dry.
Animal Proteins|Hugh Garner Bennett

British Dictionary definitions for dubbin

dubbin

dubbing

/ (ˈdʌbɪn) /

noun

British a greasy mixture of tallow and oil applied to leather to soften it and make it waterproof

Word Origin for dubbin

C18: from dub to dress leather; see dub 1

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012