tub

American  

[tuhb] / tʌb /

noun

• tubs
  plural

1. a bathtub.

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

3. any of various containers resembling or suggesting a tub.

   a tub for washing clothes.

4. the amount a tub will hold.

5. Informal. a short and fat person.

6. Nautical. an old, slow, or clumsy vessel.

7. British Informal. a bath in a bathtub.

8. Mining. an ore car; tram.

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

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verb (used with object)

tubbed, tubbing

1. to place or keep in a tub.

2. British Informal. to bathe in a bathtub.

verb (used without object)

tubbed, tubbing

1. British Informal. to bathe oneself in a bathtub.

2. Informal. to undergo washing, especially without damage, as a fabric.

   This cotton print tubs well.

tub British  

/ tʌb /

noun

1. 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

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

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

4. Also called: tubful.  the amount a tub will hold

5. a clumsy slow boat or ship

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

7. 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

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verb

1. informal to wash (oneself or another) in a tub

2. (tr) to keep or put in a tub

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• tubber
  noun
• undertub
  noun
• tubbable
  adjective
• tublike
  adjective
• untubbed
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• tubs
  plural

Etymology

Origin of tub

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

Explanation

A tub is a wide, open container. You might have a tub of butter in your fridge, but if your mom tells you to hop in the tub, stay out of the kitchen. She means it's time for a bath. Tub is an informal word for bathtub, the fixture in your bathroom that can be filled with water and bathed in. Other tubs are containers used to hold liquid or other materials — think of a tub of margarine or a tub of ice cream. In the 17th century, tub was slang for "pulpit" or "lectern," and a tub thumper was an overly enthusiastic orator or preacher.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

tub tubs tubbed tubbing

The DJ was silhouetted by a large window display of a gigantic, human-sized plastic re-creation of Raising Cane’s chicken tenders and crinkle-cut fries being dipped into a tub of Cane’s Sauce.

From Slate ● Aug. 24, 2026

The space came with a sunken bath tub, ornate ceilings and its own pool.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 19, 2026

A red cartoon hunk of steak, a bronzed turkey, a few shrimp, a tub of unsweetened yogurt, an apple and a bag of frozen peas cascade alongside him.

From Salon ● Aug. 5, 2026

“A glass-and-timber gym, barrel sauna, outdoor soaking tub, multiple covered terraces, five-car garage, and parking for four additional vehicles complete the property,” reads the listing.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 28, 2026

“Maybe later,” Jade says as she slides into the cool tub.

From "Zara’s Rules for Record-Breaking Fun" by Hena Khan

The center’s two 50-meter pools and an adjacent therapy pool will be closed, along with two expansive hot tubs, the people said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 1, 2026

The bathrooms boast large soaking tubs and chic vanities.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 28, 2026

It has tubs of brown butter, frozen flat or portioned into little pucks, ready to make a weeknight bowl of noodles taste as if someone planned better than you did.

From Salon ● Jul. 11, 2026

The products, which were sold in typical Play-Doh tubs, appeared too close to their kids’ counterparts, despite the differentiated branding and marketing, according to Bunge, who joined Hasbro from the videogames industry in 2023.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 2026

When we finished eating, Liam set both of our bowls in one of the many plastic tubs floating by.

From "The Darkest Minds" by Alexandra Bracken

Then I turned the corner: Freezers lined with beautiful tubbed sauces and pastas.

From Salon ● Jul. 11, 2026

They generally admired Romney's pink-cheeked Willett Children for seeming recently tubbed and scrubbed yet true-to-life.

From Time Magazine Archive

He roared like a baby who is being tubbed, but finally recovered his spirits, and allowed himself to be raised from the ground.

From Eyes Like the Sea by Mór Jókai

He pointed out gently that the tradition of the 'cahlege' laid down that all freshers should be tubbed.

From Years of Plenty by Ivor Brown

This costume could be tubbed and ironed if it became soiled.

From Revelations of a Wife The Story of a Honeymoon by Adele Garrison

He then takes her to a winter wonderland for some light luging and hot tubbing.

From Time ● Jan. 14, 2014

The whole weight of the tubbing is made to bear on the moss, which squeezes outwards, forming a completely water-tight joint.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 6, Slice 5 "Clervaux" to "Cockade" by Various

Thus, more and more Ruth turned to the mongrel dog who bore the name of Rollo unflinchingly—the dog that adored her openly, shamelessly, who now without a whimper took his diurnal tubbing.

From The Ragged Edge by Harold MacGrath

The tubbing consists of short portions of cast-iron cylinder fixed in segments. 

From Lives of the Engineers The Locomotive. George and Robert Stephenson by Samuel Smiles

During the Morrison wine which ended the season of tubbing on the river, the captain of the Balliol fifteen threw his arms about me, and besought me to play on the team.

From An American at Oxford by John Corbin