Adjacent Words

Rub definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

RUB, v.t. [L. probrum, exprobro; Gr. to rub. We have the elements of the word in scrape, scrub, L. scribo, Gr.]
1. To move something along the surface of a body with pressure; as, to rub the face or arms with the hand; to rub the body with flannel. Vessels are scoured or cleaned by rubbing them.
2. To wipe; to clean; to scour; but rub is a generic term, applicable to friction for every purpose.
3. To touch so as to leave behind something which touches; to spread over; as to rub any thing with oil.
4. To polish; to retouch; with over.
The whole business of our redemption is to rub over the defaced copy of the creation.
5. To obstruct by collision. [Unusual.]
In popular language, rub is used for teasing, fretting, upbraiding, reproaching or vexing with gibes or sarcasms.
To rub down, to clean by rubbing; to comb or curry, as a horse.
To rub off, to clean any thing by rubbing; to separate by friction; as, to rub off rust.
1. To rub out, to erase; to obliterate; as, to rub out marks or letters.
2. To remove or separate by friction; as, to rub out a stain.
To rub upon, to touch hard.
1. To rub up, to burnish; to polish; to clean.
2. To excite; to awaken; to rouse to action; as, to rub up the memory.
RUB, v.i.
1. To move along the surface of a body with pressure; as, a wheel rubs against the gate-post.
2. To fret; to chafe; as, to rub upon a sore.
3. To move or pass with difficulty; as, to rub through woods, as huntsmen; to rub through the world.
RUB, n.
1. The act of rubbing; friction.
2. That which renders motion or progress difficult; collision; hinderance; obstruction.
Now every rub is smoothed in our way.
Upon this rub the English embassadors thought fit to demur.
All sort of rubs will be laid in the way.
3. Inequality of ground that hinders the motion of a bowl.
4. Difficulty; cause of uneasiness; pinch.
To sleep, perchance to dream; ay, there's the rub.
5. Sarcasm; joke; something grating to the feelings.
RUB,
RUB'-STONE, n. [rub and stone.] A stone, usually some kind of sandstone, used to sharpen instruments; a whetstone.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: an unforeseen obstacle [syn: hang-up, hitch, rub, snag]
2: the act of rubbing or wiping; "he gave the hood a quick rub" [syn: rub, wipe] v
1: move over something with pressure; "rub my hands"; "rub oil into her skin"
2: cause friction; "my sweater scratches" [syn: rub, fray, fret, chafe, scratch]
3: scrape or rub as if to relieve itching; "Don't scratch your insect bites!" [syn: rub, scratch, itch]

Merriam Webster's

I. verb (rubbed; rubbing) Etymology: Middle English rubben; akin to East Frisian rubben to rub, scrape, Icelandic rubba to scrape Date: 14th century intransitive verb 1. a. to move along the surface of a body with pressure ; grate b. (1) to fret or chafe with or as if with friction (2) to cause discontent, irritation, or anger 2. to continue in a situation usually with slight difficulty <in spite of financial difficulties, he is rubbing along> 3. to admit of being rubbed (as for erasure or obliteration) transitive verb 1. a. to subject to or as if to the action of something moving especially back and forth with pressure and friction b. (1) to cause (a body) to move with pressure and friction along a surface (2) to treat in any of various ways by rubbing c. to bring into reciprocal back-and-forth or rotary contact 2. annoy, irritate II. noun Date: 1586 1. a. an unevenness of surface (as of the ground in lawn bowling) b. obstruction, difficulty <the rub is that so few of the scholars have any sense of this truth themselves — Benjamin Farrington> c. something grating to the feelings (as a gibe or harsh criticism) d. something that mars serenity 2. the application of friction with pressure <an alcohol rub>

Oxford Reference Dictionary

1. v. & n. --v. (rubbed, rubbing) 1 tr. move one's hand or another object with firm pressure over the surface of. 2 tr. (usu. foll. by against, in, on, over) apply (one's hand etc.) in this way. 3 tr. clean or polish or make dry or bare by rubbing. 4 tr. (often foll. by over) apply (polish, ointment, etc.) by rubbing. 5 tr. (foll. by in, into, through) use rubbing to make (a substance) go into or through something. 6 tr. (often foll. by together) move or slide (objects) against each other. 7 intr. (foll. by against, on) move with contact or friction. 8 tr. chafe or make sore by rubbing. 9 intr. (of cloth, skin, etc.) become frayed or worn or sore or bare with friction. 10 tr. reproduce the design of (a sepulchral brass or a stone) by rubbing paper laid on it with heelball or coloured chalk etc. 11 tr. (foll. by to) reduce to powder etc. by rubbing. 12 intr. Bowls (of a bowl) be slowed or diverted by the unevenness of the ground. --n. 1 a spell or an instance of rubbing (give it a rub). 2 a an impediment or difficulty (there's the rub). b Bowls an inequality of the ground impeding or diverting a bowl; the diversion or hindering of a bowl by this. Phrases and idioms: rub along colloq. cope or manage without undue difficulty. rub down dry or smooth or clean by rubbing. rub-down n. an instance of rubbing down. rub elbows with US = rub shoulders with. rub one's hands rub one's hands together usu. in sign of keen satisfaction, or for warmth. rub it in (or rub a person's nose in it) emphasize or repeat an embarrassing fact etc. rub noses rub one's nose against another's in greeting. rub off 1 (usu. foll. by on) be transferred by contact, be transmitted (some of his attitudes have rubbed off on me). 2 remove by rubbing. rub of (or on) the green Golf an accidental interference with the course or position of a ball. rub on colloq. = rub along. rub out 1 erase with a rubber. 2 esp. US sl. kill, eliminate. rub shoulders with associate or come into contact with (another person). rub up 1 polish (a tarnished object). 2 brush up (a subject or one's memory). 3 mix (pigment etc.) into paste by rubbing. rub-up n. the act or an instance of rubbing up. rub up the wrong way irritate or repel as by stroking a cat against the lie of its fur. Etymology: ME rubben, perh. f. LG rubben, of unkn. orig. 2. n. = RUBBER(2). Etymology: abbr.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Rub Rub, v. i. 1. To move along the surface of a body with pressure; to grate; as, a wheel rubs against the gatepost. 2. To fret; to chafe; as, to rub upon a sore. 3. To move or pass with difficulty; as, to rub through woods, as huntsmen; to rub through the world. To rub along or on, to go on with difficulty; as, they manage, with strict economy, to rub along. [Colloq.]

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Rub Rub, n. [Cf. W. rhwb. See Rub, v,t,] 1. The act of rubbing; friction. 2. That which rubs; that which tends to hinder or obstruct motion or progress; hindrance; obstruction, an impediment; especially, a difficulty or obstruction hard to overcome; a pinch. Every rub is smoothed on our way. --Shak. To sleep, perchance to dream; ay, there's the rub. --Shak. Upon this rub, the English ambassadors thought fit to demur. --Hayward. One knows not, certainly, what other rubs might have been ordained for us by a wise Providence. --W. Besant. 3. Inequality of surface, as of the ground in the game of bowls; unevenness. --Shak. 4. Something grating to the feelings; sarcasm; joke; as, a hard rub. 5. Imperfection; failing; fault. [Obs.] --Beau. & Fl. 6. A chance. [Obs.] Flight shall leave no Greek a rub. --Chapman. 7. A stone, commonly flat, used to sharpen cutting tools; a whetstone; -- called also rubstone. Rub iron, an iron guard on a wagon body, against which a wheel rubs when cramped too much.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Rub Rub, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Rubbed; p. pr. & vb. n. Rubbing.] [Probably of Celtic origin; cf. W. rhwbiaw, gael. rub.] 1. To subject (a body) to the action of something moving over its surface with pressure and friction, especially to the action of something moving back and forth; as, to rub the flesh with the hand; to rub wood with sandpaper. It shall be expedient, after that body is cleaned, to rub the body with a coarse linen cloth. --Sir T. Elyot. 2. To move over the surface of (a body) with pressure and friction; to graze; to chafe; as, the boat rubs the ground. 3. To cause (a body) to move with pressure and friction along a surface; as, to rub the hand over the body. Two bones rubbed hard against one another. --Arbuthnot. 4. To spread a substance thinly over; to smear. The smoothed plank, . . . New rubbed with balm. --Milton. 5. To scour; to burnish; to polish; to brighten; to cleanse; -- often with up or over; as, to rub up silver. The whole business of our redemption is to rub over the defaced copy of the creation. --South. 6. To hinder; to cross; to thwart. [R.] 'T is the duke's pleasure, Whose disposition, all the world well knows, Will not be rubbed nor stopped. --Shak. To rub down. (a) To clean by rubbing; to comb or curry; as, to down a horse. (b) To reduce or remove by rubbing; as, to rub down the rough points. To rub off, to clean anything by rubbing; to separate by friction; as, to rub off rust. To rub out, to remove or separate by friction; to erase; to obliterate; as, to rub out a mark or letter; to rub out a stain. To rub up. (a) To burnish; to polish; to clean. (b) To excite; to awaken; to rouse to action; as, to rub up the memory.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Rub Rub, n. Rub of the green (Golf), anything happening to a ball in motion, such as its being deflected or stopped by any agency outside the match, or by the fore caddie. Rubaiyat Ru*bai*yat", n. pl.; sing. Rubai. [Ar. rub[=a]'iy[=a]h quatrian, pl. of rub[=a]'iy having four radicals, fr. rub[=a]' four.] Quatrians; as, the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam. Sometimes in pl. construed as sing., a poem in such stanzas.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(rubs, rubbing, rubbed) 1. If you rub a part of your body, you move your hand or fingers backwards and forwards over it while pressing firmly. He rubbed his arms and stiff legs... 'I fell in a ditch', he said, rubbing at a scrape on his hand. VERB: V n, V prep/adv 2. If you rub against a surface or rub a part of your body against a surface, you move it backwards and forwards while pressing it against the surface. A cat was rubbing against my leg... He kept rubbing his leg against mine. VERB: V prep, V n prep 3. If you rub an object or a surface, you move a cloth backward and forward over it in order to clean or dry it. She took off her glasses and rubbed them hard... He rubbed and rubbed but couldn't seem to get clean. VERB: V n, V 4. If you rub a substance into a surface or rub something such as dirt from a surface, you spread it over the surface or remove it from the surface using your hand or something such as a cloth. He rubbed oil into my back... VERB: V n prep 5. If you rub two things together or if they rub together, they move backwards and forwards, pressing against each other. He rubbed his hands together a few times. ...the 650-mile rift that separates the Pacific and North American geological plates as they rub together. VERB: V n together, V together 6. If something you are wearing or holding rubs, it makes you sore because it keeps moving backwards and forwards against your skin. Smear cream on to your baby's skin at the edges of the plaster to prevent it from rubbing. VERB: V 7. Rub is used in expressions such as there's the rub and the rub is when you are mentioning a difficulty that makes something hard or impossible to achieve. (FORMAL) 'What do you want to write about?'. And there was the rub, because I didn't yet know. N-SING: the N 8. A massage can be referred to as a rub. She sometimes asks if I want a back rub. N-COUNT: usu sing 9. see also rubbing 10. If you rub shoulders with famous people, you meet them and talk to them. You can also say that you rub elbows with someone, especially in American English. He regularly rubbed shoulders with the likes of Elizabeth Taylor and Kylie Minogue. PHRASE: V inflects, PHR n 11. If you rub someone up the wrong way in British English, or rub someone the wrong way in American English, you offend or annoy them without intending to. (INFORMAL) What are you going to get out of him if you rub him up the wrong way? = annoy PHRASE: V inflects 12. to rub someone's nose in it: see nose to rub salt into the wound: see salt

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. v. a. 1. Abrade, scrape, chafe, grate. 2. Wipe, clean, scour. 3. Smooth. 4. Chafe, fret, gall, touch hard. 5. Spread, put, apply, smear. II. v. n. 1. Grate, chafe. 2. Fret, chafe, make friction. III. n. 1. Rubbing, friction. 2. Collision, obstruction, hindrance. 3. Obstacle, difficulty, embarrassment, perplexity, dilemma, pinch, hardship. 4. Taunt, gibe, sarcasm, jeer, severe rebuke.

1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue

To run away. Don't rub us to the whit; don't send us to Newgate. Cant.--To rub up; to refresh: to rub up one's memory. A rub: an impediment. A rubber; the best two out of three. To win a rubber: to win two games out of three.

Moby Thesaurus

Discordia, Eris, ablate, abrade, abrase, afflict, aggravate, agonize, ail, air-dry, anhydrate, annoy, apple of discord, attouchement, bake, bandage, bar, bark, bathe, bite, block, blockade, blot, bone of contention, bone to pick, bother, bottleneck, breath, brush, brush by, buff, burn, burnish, care for, caress, casus belli, catch, catch a likeness, chafe, character, characterize, chart, clash, clashing, climacteric, clutch, come in contact, conflict, confrication, contact, contention, contingence, convergence of events, convulse, cordon, crimp, crisis, critical juncture, critical point, crossroads, crow to pick, crow to pluck, crucial period, crucify, crunch, crux, cure, curtain, cut, cutaneous sense, dehumidify, dehydrate, delineate, depict, desiccate, determent, deterrent, diagnose, diagram, difficulty, disaccord, disaffinity, discord, discordance, discordancy, disharmony, distress, doctor, drain, draw, drawback, dry, emergency, enmity, erase, erode, evaporate, exasperate, excoriate, excruciate, exigency, exsiccate, extremity, feel, feel up, feeling, fester, file, fingertip caress, finish, fire, flick, flux, fondle, fray, frazzle, fret, frication, friction, frictionize, frottage, furbish, gall, give care to, give pain, glance, glaze, gloss, gnaw, gnaw away, grate, graze, grind, gripe, grounds for war, hamper, hand-mindedness, hang-up, harrow, hazard, heal, hinge, hit, hit off, hitch, hurdle, hurt, impediment, impinge, impingement, impingence, incompatibility, incompatibleness, inflame, inflict pain, inharmoniousness, inharmony, insolate, irk, irritate, jangle, jar, joker, kill by inches, kiln, kiss, knead, lacerate, lambency, lap, lick, light touch, limn, luster, map, martyr, martyrize, massage, minister to, mischief, mummify, nettle, nip, noncooperation, nose, notate, nudge, nurse, nuzzle, objection, obstacle, obstruction, obstructive, one small difficulty, open conflict, operate on, osculate, osculation, pain, paint, parch, pass, peeve, perfrication, pet, physic, picture, picturize, pierce, pinch, plaster, polish, portray, poultice, prick, print, prolong the agony, provoke, purge, push, put to torture, rack, rankle, rasp, raze, register, remedy, render, represent, rile, rub against, rub away, rub down, rub noses, rub off, rub out, rubbing, ruffle, schematize, scorch, scour, scrape, scrub, scuff, sear, sense of touch, shave, shine, shrivel, sideswipe, skim, skin, skirt, sleek, slick, slick down, smoke, snag, soak up, sore point, splint, sponge, squeak by, stab, sting, strained relations, strait, strap, stroke, stumbling block, stumbling stone, sun, sun-dry, swab, symbolize, tactile sense, taction, take a rubbing, tangency, tap, tender spot, tension, tentative contact, tentative poke, ticklish issue, torment, torrefy, torture, touch, touching, towel, trace, trace out, trace over, traverse, treat, turn, turning point, tweak, twist, unharmoniousness, unpleasantness, varnish, vex, wax, wear, wear away, weazen, whisper, wipe, wither, wizen, wound, wring, write