scrubs

British

/ skrʌbs /

plural noun

the hygienic clothing worn by surgeons and other operating theatre staff during an operation

"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.

She scrubs through video and photos and interviews a case worker.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 24, 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

Most preshow work happens in her “dog room,” a basement utility space where pet scrubs and tinctures abound like makeup at Sephora.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 31, 2026

When I took Otto out for morning walks, I noticed nurses coming home in scrubs after overnight shifts at the nearby hospital—clearly headed straight for well-earned sleep.

From Salon • Jan. 27, 2026

The uniform I was wearing under them was a dead giveaway to what I was, but the scrubs were too baggy to run in.

From "The Darkest Minds" by Alexandra Bracken

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023