rub off on

1. Become transferred to another, influence through close contact, as in We hoped some of their good manners would rub off on our children. This idiom alludes to transferring something like paint to another substance by rubbing against it. [Mid-1900s]

Example Sentences

Not even the stuck-up sire in charge of the local fair wants her stink to rub off on the livestock.

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Some of her enthusiasm might rub off on you.

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He has had five yellow cards and a red already this season and he has got to be careful, because that kind of indiscipline can rub off on your players.

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Which might rub off on Davis’ sport.

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“So to see how Nneka is getting to her spots and able to use her physicality to finish around the rim, not just in transition but in a half-court setting, I think that will rub off on Ezi, too.”

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