v.
(rubs, rubbing, rubbed)
- apply firm pressure to the surface of, using a repeated back and forth motion.
▸move to and fro against a surface.
▸apply with a rubbing action:
she rubbed some cream on her nose.
▸
(
rub something in/into/through)
blend or mix ingredients together using a rubbing action:
rub in the fat.
▸
(rub something down)
dry, smooth, or clean something by rubbing.
▸
(rub something out)
chiefly Brit. erase pencil marks with a rubber.
-
(rub off)
be transferred by contact or association.
-
(rub along)
Brit. informal cope or get along without undue difficulty.
- reproduce the design of (a sepulchral brass or a stone) by rubbing paper laid on it with pencil or chalk.
- Bowls (of a bowl) be slowed or diverted by the unevenness of the ground.
n.
- an act of rubbing.
- an ointment designed to be rubbed on the skin.
-
(usu. the rub)
the central or most important difficulty.
[from Shakespeare's Hamlet (iii. i. 65).]
- Bowls an inequality of the ground impeding or diverting a bowl.
▸the diversion or hindering of a bowl by this.
Phrase
- the rub of the green
- Golf an accidental or unpredictable influence on the course or position of the ball.
- good fortune.
- rub one's hands
rub one's hands together to show keen satisfaction. - rub it in
(or rub someone's nose in something)
informal emphatically draw someone's attention to an embarrassing fact. - rub noses
rub one's nose against someone else's in greeting (especially as traditional among Maoris and some other peoples). - rub shoulders
(or N. Amer. elbows)
associate or come into contact. - rub someone
(or Brit. rub someone up)
the wrong way
anger or irritate someone.
Etymology
ME: perh. from Low Ger. rubben, of unknown ultimate origin.