Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Showing results for rub off. Search instead for rub+off.
Synonyms

rub off

British  

verb

  1. to remove or be removed by rubbing

  2. (intr; often foll by on or onto) to have an effect through close association or contact, esp so as to make similar

    her crude manners have rubbed off on you
"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

noun

  1. a resulting effect on something else; consequences

    a positive rub-off
"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

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.

We see that throughout the season, and they really, like, rub off on each other and they have something to give to the other person.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 8, 2026

Presumably those who do decide to stay in room 411 are hoping that Christie’s literary genius might somehow rub off.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 27, 2026

In some cases, the fish attempted to rub off the mark within the first hour of seeing a mirror.

From Science Daily • Feb. 23, 2026

Some of her enthusiasm might rub off on you.

From Salon • Aug. 27, 2025

I wanted some of the cloudlike warmth in Father Amadi’s eyes to rub off on me, settle on me.

From "Purple Hibiscus" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Definitions 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.