Rub | Mean of rub in English Dictionary
/ˈrʌb/
- Verb
- to move something (such as your hand or an object) back and forth along the surface of (something) while pressing
- Could you rub my shoulders?
- He blinked and rubbed his eyes.
- The cat rubbed itself against my leg.
- The cat rubbed against my leg.
- Don't rub too hard or you'll tear the paper.
- to move (two things) back and forth against each other
- He rubbed his hands with glee.
- I rubbed my hands together to warm them up.
- The sound you hear is the crickets rubbing their legs together.
- We learned how to rub two sticks together to start a fire.
- There was a squeak when the boards rubbed together.
- to move back and forth many times against something in a way that causes pain or damage
- The back of my shoe is rubbing against my heel and giving me a blister.
- There are marks where the chair has rubbed against the wall.
- There are marks where the chair has been rubbing the wall.
- I rubbed my knees raw scrambling over the rocks.
- to spread (something) over and into a surface by pressing firmly with your hands
- We rubbed the steaks with spices before we grilled them. = We rubbed spices onto the steaks before we grilled them.
- I rubbed the ointment onto my sore muscles.
- to work, play, etc., together with little or no difficulty
- We rub along [=get along] well enough, but we're not really close friends.
- to rub (a person or animal's body) with your hands in order to clean, dry, or massage it
- The trainer rubbed down the players after the game to keep them from getting sore.
- to meet and talk with (someone) in a friendly way
- The award dinner gave me the opportunity to rub elbows with some of today's greatest American poets.
- to keep reminding someone of (something that person would like to forget)
- She keeps rubbing in the fact that she makes more money than I do.
- I know I made a mistake, but you don't have to rub it in.
- to come off of a surface and often stick to another surface when the surfaces touch each other
- Be careful that the ink doesn't rub off on your fingers.
- The paint on the desk is beginning to rub off.
- Her positive attitude rubbed off on other people. [=other people began to have a positive attitude from being around her]
- I wish some of your good luck would rub off on me. [=I wish that I would start having good luck too]
- to remove (something) from a surface by rubbing
- I rubbed the dirt off (of) the penny.
- to remove (something) by rubbing especially with an eraser
- She rubbed out [=(chiefly US) erased] the wrong answer from her paper and filled in the correct one.
- to murder (someone)
- They say that the Mafia rubbed him out.
- to make a difficult situation even worse for someone
- It's bad enough that he beat me, but the way he keeps talking about it is just rubbing salt in the wound.
- to repeatedly remind someone of (a mistake, failure, etc.)
- He beat us all in the race and then rubbed our noses in it.
- to cause (someone) to be angry or annoyed
- She meant to be helpful but her suggestion really rubbed me the wrong way.
- Noun
- an act of rubbing a surface with your hands or an object
- After the car was washed, they gave the windshield a quick rub with a dry cloth.
- Let me give you a back rub. [=let me rub/massage your back]
- something that causes a difficulty or problem
- Therein/There lies the rub. [=that's the problem]
- She's an amazing cook, but she rarely has time to make meals. There's the rub.
- a combination of spices that is rubbed into the surface of meat before the meat is cooked
- He used his favorite rub on the steaks.
- a dry rub for chicken