scrub

¹ American  

[skruhb] / skrʌb /

verb (used with object)

• scrubs,
  present (3rd person singular)
• scrubbed,
  past participle,  past
• scrubbing
  present participle

1. to rub hard with a brush, cloth, etc., or against a rough surface in washing.

2. to subject to friction; rub.

3. to remove (dirt, grime, etc.) from something by hard rubbing while washing.

4. Chemistry. to remove (impurities or undesirable components) from a gas by chemical means, as sulfur dioxide from smokestack gas or carbon dioxide from exhaled air in life-support packs.

5. to cancel or postpone (a space flight or part of a mission).

   Ground control scrubbed the spacewalk.

6. Slang. to do away with; cancel.

   Scrub your vacation plans—there's work to do!

7. Computers.

   1. to perform routine maintenance on (data) in memory or storage with scans that detect and correct data corruption.

      The system is automated to scrub and archive all active records in the database.

   2. to permanently erase (a hard drive, server, etc.), usually by writing over space where data had been stored and was later deleted, so that deleted data cannot be recovered.

      Scrub your computer’s hard drive before you sell or donate it.

   3. to delete (negative or damaging online content relating to someone or something) so as to erase it from public record or social media: Before applying for jobs, I scrubbed a bunch of posts from my hard-partying past.

      The marketing team scrubbed the disgraced celebrity spokesperson from their website within hours of the scandal.

      Before applying for jobs, I scrubbed a bunch of posts from my hard-partying past.

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verb (used without object)

• scrubs,
  present (3rd person singular)
• scrubbed,
  past participle,  past
• scrubbing
  present participle

1. to cleanse something by hard rubbing.

2. Digital Technology. to fast-forward or rewind in an audio or video file by dragging the progress marker forward or backward across the timeline bar.

   Scrub forward through the pregame and start playback from the kickoff.

noun

1. an act or instance of scrubbing.

2. a canceled or postponed space flight, launching, scheduled part of a space mission, etc.

3. something, as a cosmetic preparation, used for scrubbing.

4. scrubs, a uniform, durably designed for frequent washing and sanitizing, usually consisting of pants and a loose-fitting top, worn by doctors, nurses, and other medical staff, especially during surgery: nursing scrubs.

   surgical scrubs;

   nursing scrubs.

verb phrase

1. scrub in / up to cleanse one's hands and arms as a preparation to performing or assisting in surgery.

scrub ² American  

[skruhb] / skrʌb /

noun

1. low trees or shrubs collectively.

2. a large area covered with low trees and shrubs, as the Australian bush.

3. a domestic animal of mixed or inferior breeding; mongrel.

4. a small or insignificant person.

5. anything undersized or inferior.

6. Sports. a player not belonging to the varsity or regular team; a player who is not first-string.

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adjective

1. small, undersized, or stunted.

2. inferior or insignificant.

3. abounding in or covered with low trees and shrubs.

   They rode through scrub country.

scrub ¹ British  

/ skrʌb /

noun

1. 1. vegetation consisting of stunted trees, bushes, and other plants growing in an arid area

   2. ( as modifier )

      scrub vegetation

2. an area of arid land covered with such vegetation

3. 1. an animal of inferior breeding or condition

   2. ( as modifier )

      a scrub bull

4. a small or insignificant person

5. anything stunted or inferior

6. sport a player not in the first team

7. informal a remote place, esp one where contact with people can be avoided

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adjective

1. small, stunted, or inferior

2. sport

   1. (of a player) not in the first team

   2. (of a team) composed of such players

   3. (of a contest) between scratch or incomplete teams

scrub ² British  

/ skrʌb /

verb

1. to rub (a surface) hard, with or as if with a brush, soap, and water, in order to clean it

2. to remove (dirt), esp by rubbing with a brush and water

3. (of a surgeon) to wash the hands and arms thoroughly before operating

4. (tr) to purify (a vapour or gas) by removing impurities

5. informal (tr) to delete or cancel

6. slang (intr) horse racing (of jockeys) to urge a horse forwards by moving the arms and whip rhythmically forwards and backwards alongside its neck

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noun

1. the act of or an instance of scrubbing

Usage

What else does scrub mean? Scrub is slang for someone who is just plain bad at something—a no-talent hack. This could be in sports, video games, or thanks to TLC's hit song, relationships.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonscrubbable
  adjective
• scrubbable
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• scrubbing
  present
• scrubbed
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• scrub
  simple
• scrubs
  simple
• have scrubbed
  perfect
• has scrubbed
  perfect
• am scrubbing
  progressive
• are scrubbing
  progressive
• is scrubbing
  progressive
• have been scrubbing
  perfect progressive
• has been scrubbing
  perfect progressive

Past

• scrubbed
  simple
• had scrubbed
  perfect
• was scrubbing
  progressive
• were scrubbing
  progressive
• had been scrubbing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will scrub
  simple
• will have scrubbed
  perfect
• will be scrubbing
  progressive
• will have been scrubbing
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of scrub¹

First recorded in 1300–50; of uncertain origin; Middle English verb scrobben, shrubben, borrowed from or related to Middle Dutch, Middle Low German schrobben “to scrub, scrape”

Origin of scrub²

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English shrub(be), shrob(be), Old English scrybb; see shrub ¹

Explanation

When you scrub something, you wash it forcefully. You might scrub your dirty bathtub with a brush and some bleach, for example. When you scrub your floor, you use elbow grease — in other words, you work hard to get the floor clean. You might need to scrub your fingernails after a morning working on your car's engine, rubbing with a nail brush to get the grease off. Word experts think that scrub comes from the Middle Low German word schrubben, which also means "to scrub."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

scrub scrubs scrubbed scrubbing

Burn the sandwich, toast it again; scrub every plate and punch out with pride.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026

"Instead of doing a good scrub and then cutting it up, she's just throwing it out," Michelle said.

From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026

McElwee refuses to scrub the truth from his personal histories, choosing instead to confront his own regrets head-on.

From Salon ● Jul. 24, 2026

“If I get even a speck of dust on me outside, I have to come home and scrub my hands until they’re raw just to feel clean,” he said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026

She carried a bucket and a scrub brush from home.

From "The Teacher’s Funeral" by Richard Peck

Women in green scrubs and hairnets were lined up to greet her as her stretcher rolled out of the elevator.

From Salon ● May 27, 2026

However, the investigator added, the company scrubs data to remove personal or business identifiers in case contractors aren’t abiding by its instructions.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 23, 2026

In the remote Ocotillo washes, where the scrubs claw at people’s shins, he recently found what he believes to be the remains of a human finger.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 28, 2026

Various male doctors or nurses in green scrubs are seen in the video on Kildow's Instagram handle.

From Barron's ● Feb. 20, 2026

Enter a man wearing lime green scrubs and a matching hospital cap.

From "Because of Mr. Terupt" by Rob Buyea

All schools will open as normal — although operations will be tightly monitored and affected campuses are being scrubbed clean inside and out.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 30, 2026

SpaceX had scheduled the test flight to happen last week, but it was scrubbed shortly before liftoff after problems with the booster engines.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 25, 2026

The sound is not just big and bold, but scrubbed clean by AI with the goal of maddening perfection.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 16, 2026

Dialects have since been dubbed over in cinemas and scrubbed from radio and television programmes.

From BBC ● Jun. 25, 2026

I walk back toward the stack of mess pots waiting to be scrubbed.

From "Blood on the River" by Elisa Carbone

Embassy, which had been closed since 2019, workers have been scrubbing mold, rolling out fresh wall-to-wall carpeting and installing new air conditioning units.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 24, 2026

But I’d say seven to ten minutes of my 15-minute reset is, almost always, spent sudsing and scrubbing.

From Salon ● May 5, 2026

A common industrial approach, aqueous amine scrubbing, requires heating large amounts of liquid to temperatures above 100 °C to release the captured CO2 and reuse the solution.

From Science Daily ● Mar. 28, 2026

The top of the dresser needed serious rehab: scrubbing, sanding and repainting to create a shiny finish.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 4, 2026

Thinking how pretty her hands were, despite they were red from scrubbing floors, I watched her fingers move dreamy up and down the keyboard.

From "Cold Sassy Tree" by Olive Ann Burns

Related Words

• brush
• cleanse
• mop
• rub
• scour
• wash