rub in

British  

verb

1. to spread with pressure, esp in order to cause to be absorbed

2. informal to harp on (something distasteful to a person, of which he or she does not wish to be reminded)

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rub in Idioms  

1. Also, rub it in. Harp on something, especially an unpleasant matter, as in She always rubs in the fact that she graduated with honors and I didn't, or I know I forgot your birthday, but don't keep rubbing it in. This idiom alludes to the expression rub salt into a wound, an action that makes the wound more painful; it dates from medieval times and remains current. [Mid-1800s] Also see rub someone's nose in it.

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Example Sentences

Also unsatisfied are those who approve of nothing he has done and yet are happy to rub in his face his TACO-like unwillingness to engage in further acts of which they would also disapprove.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 10, 2026

The dance begins when Tribus pretends to spit on the floor and rub in the spit with his foot.

From New York Times • May 8, 2024

Always rub in the same direction as the grain lines that the manufacturer left when buffing the sink.

From Washington Post • Aug. 22, 2022

My mom warned me against trying to rub in the detergent, which she explained might actually remove the color of the jeans themselves.

From Salon • Jul. 28, 2022

Did she really need to rub in her first-place reign?

From "Sir Fig Newton and the Science of Persistence" by Sonja Thomas

Related Words

• accentuate
• affirm
• assert
• highlight
• indicate
• maintain
• point out
• reiterate
• repeat
• underline
• underscore