tub

[ tuhb ]

/ tʌb /

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See synonyms for: tub / tubbed / tubbing on Thesaurus.com

noun

a bathtub.

a broad, round, open, wooden container, usually made of staves held together by hoops and fitted around a flat bottom.

any of various containers resembling or suggesting a tub: a tub for washing clothes.

the amount a tub will hold.

Informal. a short and fat person.

Nautical. an old, slow, or clumsy vessel.

British Informal. a bath in a bathtub.

Mining. an ore car; tram.

Military Slang. a two-seat aircraft, especially a trainer.

verb (used with object), tubbed, tub·bing.

to place or keep in a tub.

British Informal. to bathe in a bathtub.

verb (used without object), tubbed, tub·bing.

British Informal. to bathe oneself in a bathtub.

Informal. to undergo washing, especially without damage, as a fabric: This cotton print tubs well.

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Origin of tub

1350–1400; Middle English tubbe (noun) <Middle Dutch tobbe; cognate with Middle Low German tubbe,tobbe

OTHER WORDS FROM tub

tub·ba·ble, adjectivetubber, nountublike, adjectiveun·der·tub, noun

un·tubbed, adjective

Words nearby tub

Tuareg, tuart, tuatara, Tuatha Dé Danann, tuatua, tub, tuba, tubal, Tubal-cain, tubal ligation, tubal pregnancy

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use tub in a sentence

To mimic these conditions in the lab, the researchers added nutrients to spur bacterial growth in the tubs in which the animals were living.
Choked by bacteria, some starfish are turning to goo|Erin Garcia de Jesus|February 8, 2021|Science News For Students
Then, there’s one with about 60 percent Earth’s density, still fluffy enough to float if you could put it in a tub of water, and the final planet is Jupiter-like.
Two exoplanet families redefine what planetary systems can look like|Lisa Grossman|February 5, 2021|Science News
Even if we slow the flow of water to a trickle, the tub will eventually fill up and water will come spilling out onto the floor.
Bill Gates: Here's a Formula That Explains Where We Need to Invest in Climate Innovation|Bill Gates|January 22, 2021|Time
If you create a nightly routine of keeping your phone out of sight and out of mind while you’re in the tub, you may be able to disrupt your instinct to check it or think about notifications—allowing you to actually calm down.
To take the most relaxing bath ever, add some healthy tips|Rachel Feltman|January 3, 2021|Popular-Science

So obviously, the following should be taken with a tub of salt.
TV networks cut costs to confront shrinking profits amid streaming shift|Tim Peterson|November 11, 2020|Digiday
On one summer lunch hour, Donna Ann Levonuk, 50, lifted a tub of diaper cream priced at $43.98—and then stashed it in her purse.
The Insane $11 Billion Scam at Retailers’ Return Desks|M.L. Nestel|December 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The tub used in the birth was not approved for medical use and is difficult to disinfect.
Are Water Births Toxic to Babies?|Brandy Zadrozny|December 12, 2014|DAILY BEAST
This past winter, my partner and I rented a small house in rural Vermont with a gorgeous clawfoot tub.
I Tried Cosmo’s New Lesbian Sex Tips|Samantha Allen|November 18, 2014|DAILY BEAST
My partner got in the “tub” first and I leaned back on her so she could give me the old reacharound.
I Tried Cosmo’s New Lesbian Sex Tips|Samantha Allen|November 18, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Foul-mouthed chauvinist who flirted with chicks in a hot tub or celebrity-friendly sociopolitical satirist?
Canada’s Subversive Sock Puppet: Ed the Sock Isn’t Afraid to Say Anything|Soraya Roberts|November 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Very soon afterwards a mollusca had been captured, and placed in a tub filled with sea water.
A Woman's Journey Round the World|Ida Pfeiffer
The nurse should not touch the outside of the tub with infected articles while putting these in the disinfectant.
Essays In Pastoral Medicine|Austin Malley
One of the most curious sights of Madrid is the great wash-tub of the Manzanares.
Spanish Life in Town and Country|L. Higgin and Eugne E. Street
It was as big as a tub, and the golden spoon in the saucer beside the cup was so heavy the boy could scarcely lift it.
The Tin Woodman of Oz|L. Frank Baum
I feel mad enough to pull out my yellowest feathers, or upset my bath-tub.
St. Nicholas, Vol. 5, No. 5, March, 1878|Various

British Dictionary definitions for tub

tub

/ (tʌb) /

noun

a low wide open container, typically round, originally one made of wood and used esp for washing: now made of wood, plastic, metal, etc, and used in a variety of domestic and industrial situations

a small plastic or cardboard container of similar shape for ice cream, margarine, etc

Also called: bathtub another word (esp US and Canadian) for bath 1 (def. 1)

Also called: tubful the amount a tub will hold

a clumsy slow boat or ship

informal (in rowing) a heavy wide boat used for training novice oarsmen

Also called: tram, hutch

a small vehicle on rails for carrying loads in a mine
a container for lifting coal or ore up a mine shaft; skip

verb tubs, tubbing or tubbed

British informal to wash (oneself or another) in a tub

(tr) to keep or put in a tub

Derived forms of tub

tubbable, adjectivetubber, noun

Word Origin for tub

C14: from Middle Dutch tubbe

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