rub

[ruhb]

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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR rub ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object), rubbed, rub·bing.

to subject the surface of (a thing or person) to pressure and friction, as in cleaning, smoothing, polishing, coating, massaging, or soothing: to rub a table top with wax polish; to rub the entire back area.

to move (something) back and forth or with a rotary motion, as against or along another surface: to rub the cloth over the glass pane.

to spread or apply (something) with pressure and friction over something else or a person: to rub lotion on her chapped hands.

to move (two things) with pressure and friction over or back and forth over each other (often followed by together): He rubbed his hands together.

to mark, polish, force, move, etc. (something) by pressure and friction (often followed by over, in, or into).

to remove by pressure and friction; erase (often followed by off or out).

verb (used without object), rubbed, rub·bing.

to exert pressure and friction on something.

to move with pressure against something.

to admit of being rubbed in a specified manner: Chalk rubs off easily.

Chiefly British. to proceed, continue in a course, or keep going with effort or difficulty (usually followed by on, along, or through): He manages to rub along.

noun

an act or instance of rubbing: an alcohol rub.

something that annoys or irritates one's feelings, as a sharp criticism, a sarcastic remark, or the like: to resent rubs concerning one's character.

an annoying experience or circumstance.

an obstacle, impediment, or difficulty: We'd like to travel, but the rub is that we have no money.

a rough or abraded area caused by rubbing.

Verb Phrases

rub down,

to smooth off, polish, or apply a coating to: to rub a chair down with sandpaper.
to give a massage to.

rub off on, to become transferred or communicated to by example or association: Some of his good luck must have rubbed off on me.

rub out,

to obliterate; erase.
Slang.to murder: They rubbed him out before he could get to the police.

Idioms

rub it in, Informal. to emphasize or reiterate something unpleasant in order to tease or annoy: The situation was embarrassing enough without having you rub it in.

rub salt in/into someone's wounds. salt¹(def 23).

rub the wrong way, to irritate; offend; annoy: a manner that seemed to rub everyone the wrong way.

rub up, British Informal. to refresh one's memory of (a subject, language, etc.).

Origin of rub

1300–50; 1860–65 for def 18b; Middle English rubben (v.); cognate with Frisian rubben, Danish rubbe, Swedish rubba

Related formsun·rubbed, adjectivewell-rubbed, adjective

Synonyms for rub

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR rub ON THESAURUS.COM

14. hitch, catch, thing, trouble, pinch.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for rub

drawback, scrub, coat, knead, glaze, cover, scrape, grind, paint, graze, caress, spread, brush, clean, smear, pat, smooth, wipe, apply, wear

Examples from the Web for rub

Contemporary Examples of rub

Rub the loin with olive oil, and season with salt and pepper.
Make Carla Hall’s Roasted Pork Loin With Cranberries
Carla Hall
December 24, 2014
Rub pork loin with paprika, Cajun seasoning, parsley, onion powder, garlic powder, sugar, salt, and pepper.
Epic Meal Empire’s Meat Monstrosities: From the Bacon Spider to the Cinnabattleship
Harley Morenstein
July 26, 2014
The rub is that these devices have been in short supply lately.
The Romantic Comedy Is Dead
Andrew Romano
July 7, 2014
Maybe the cleric can rub his own magic lamp, and ask it to explain the concept known as brain drain.
Iran Cleric: Jews Use Sorcery to Spy
IranWire
July 5, 2014
When you get a new one they tell you to put coco-butter on your fingers and rub it a lot so it won't show so much.
Gordie Howe Hockey’s Greatest War Horse
W.C. Heinz
May 31, 2014

Historical Examples of rub

Is it that it seems a strange and hideous dream, from which we will awake and rub our eyes?
Ballads of a Bohemian
Robert W. Service
He ran and pulled some grass and proceeded to rub the Major down.
Weighed and Wanting
George MacDonald
And this time the thing he wanted was to get the dervish to rub some of the salve on his other eye.
Tom Sawyer Abroad
Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens)
Wash the meat in cold water, and then wipe it dry, and rub it with salt.
Directions for Cookery, in its Various Branches
Eliza Leslie
Reserve some of the stuffing to rub all over the outside of the meat.
Directions for Cookery, in its Various Branches
Eliza Leslie

British Dictionary definitions for rub

rub

verb rubs, rubbing or rubbed

to apply pressure and friction to (something) with a circular or backward and forward motion

to move (something) with pressure along, over, or against (a surface)

to chafe or fray

(tr) to bring into a certain condition by rubbingrub it clean

(tr) to spread with pressure, esp in order to cause to be absorbedhe rubbed ointment into his back

(tr) to mix (fat) into flour with the fingertips, as in making pastry

(foll by off, out, away, etc) to remove or be removed by rubbing

bowls (of a bowl) to be slowed or deflected by an uneven patch on the green

(tr often foll by together) to move against each other with pressure and friction (esp in the phrases rub one's hands, often a sign of glee, anticipation, or satisfaction, and rub noses, a greeting among Inuit people)

rub someone's nose in it informal to remind someone unkindly of his failing or error

rub up the wrong way to arouse anger (in); annoy

rub shoulders with or rub elbows with informal to mix with socially or associate with

noun

the act of rubbing

the rub an obstacle or difficulty (esp in the phrase there's the rub)

something that hurts the feelings or annoys; rebuke

bowls an uneven patch in the green

any roughness or unevenness of surface

golfan incident of accidental interference with the ball
informala piece of good or bad luck

See also rub along, rub down, rub in, rub off, rub out, rub up

Word Origin for rub

C15: perhaps from Low German rubben, of obscure origin

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

Word Origin and History for rub

early 14c., transitive and intransitive, of uncertain origin, perhaps related to East Frisian rubben "to scratch, rub," and Low German rubbeling "rough, uneven," or similar words in Scandinavian (cf. Danish rubbe "to rub, scrub," Norwegian rubba), of uncertain origin. Related: Rubbed; rubbing.

To rub (someone) the wrong way is from 1853; probably the notion is of cats' fur. To rub noses in greeting as a sign of friendship (attested from 1822) formerly was common among Eskimos, Maoris, and some other Pacific Islanders. Rub out "obliterate" is from 1560s; underworld slang sense of "kill" is recorded from 1848, American English. Rub off "remove by rubbing" is from 1590s; meaning "have an influence" is recorded from 1959.

"act of rubbing," 1610s, from rub (v.); earlier "obstacle, inequality on ground" (1580s, common in 17c.) which is the figure in Hamlet's there's the rub (1602).

rub in Medicine