tub

[tuhb]

See more synonyms for tub 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.

Origin of tub

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

Related formstub·ba·ble, adjectivetub·ber, nountub·like, adjectiveun·der·tub, nounun·tubbed, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for tub

bucket, cask, cauldron, cistern, receptacle, spa, tank, vat, vessel

Examples from the Web for tub

Contemporary Examples of tub

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
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
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
A heavy trowel is used to retrieve a mass of your chosen kind of ice cream from its tub and put it in the cardboard container.
Dr. Mike’s Makes the Best Ice Cream on Earth
Jane & Michael Stern
July 27, 2014
Until recently, with global demand soaring for oil, gas, and minerals, thumping the tub against imperialism played well at home.
After the Presidential Election, a Tough Road for Hugo Chávez
Mac Margolis
October 9, 2012

Historical Examples of tub

It should be packed closely into the tub, and pressed down hard.
Directions for Cookery, in its Various Branches
Eliza Leslie
Let it ferment for three days in a tub covered with a double blanket.
Directions for Cookery, in its Various Branches
Eliza Leslie
The first mound that I encountered belonged to a goblin who was splashing in his tub.
American Notes
Rudyard Kipling
So they went bobbing about in a tub, and we, with a like paucity of equipment, essayed to follow them.
Meadow Grass
Alice Brown
I have taken the champagne for granted, and it's cooling now in a tub somewhere.
One Day's Courtship
Robert Barr

British Dictionary definitions for tub

tub

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
1. a small vehicle on rails for carrying loads in a mine
2. 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 Formstubbable, 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

Word Origin and History for tub

"open wooden vessel," late 14c., from Middle Low German, Middle Dutch, or Middle Flemish tubbe, of uncertain origin. Related to Old High German zubar "vessel with two handles, wine vessel," German Zuber. Considered to be unrelated to Latin tubus (see tube); one theory connects it to the root of two based on the number of handles. Also 17c. slang for "pulpit;" hence tub-thumper (1660s) "speaker or preacher who thumps the pulpit for emphasis."