scrub
verb (used with object)
to rub hard with a brush, cloth, etc., or against a rough surface in washing.
had been scrubbing
-
past perfect progressiveof scrub.past perfect progressive
Used to describe an action that was ongoing continuously in the past up until another past event interrupted it.
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.
For centuries, archeologists and museum curators had been scrubbing away these traces of color before presenting statues and architectural reliefs to the public.
From The New Yorker ● Oct. 22, 2018
She had been scrubbing and polishing the zinc under the stove, and she was as happy as she was executive.
From The Madigans by Orson Lowell
As he reached the top, he saw Susie who had been scrubbing the top of the back stairs, throw down her brush, preparatory to going to see what the noise was.
From Billy Whiskers The Autobiography of a Goat by W. H. Fry
Since dawn these artists had been scrubbing their doors, washing windows, and sluicing the gutters.
From In and out of Three Normady Inns by Anna Bowman Dodd
The man with mop and pail who had been scrubbing the deck came and also two or three other deck hands.
From Billy Whiskers' Adventures by Paul Hawthorne
