rub

/ˈrʌb/

• Verb
• to move something (such as your hand or an object) back and forth along the surface of (something) while pressing
1. Could you rub my shoulders?
2. He blinked and rubbed his eyes.
3. The cat rubbed itself against my leg.
4. The cat rubbed against my leg.
5. Don't rub too hard or you'll tear the paper.
• to move (two things) back and forth against each other
1. He rubbed his hands with glee.
2. I rubbed my hands together to warm them up.
3. The sound you hear is the crickets rubbing their legs together.
4. We learned how to rub two sticks together to start a fire.
5. 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
1. The back of my shoe is rubbing against my heel and giving me a blister.
2. There are marks where the chair has rubbed against the wall.
3. There are marks where the chair has been rubbing the wall.
4. I rubbed my knees raw scrambling over the rocks.

• to spread (something) over and into a surface by pressing firmly with your hands
1. We rubbed the steaks with spices before we grilled them. = We rubbed spices onto the steaks before we grilled them.
2. I rubbed the ointment onto my sore muscles.
• to work, play, etc., together with little or no difficulty
1. 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
1. 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
1. 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)
1. She keeps rubbing in the fact that she makes more money than I do.
2. 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
1. Be careful that the ink doesn't rub off on your fingers.
2. The paint on the desk is beginning to rub off.
3. Her positive attitude rubbed off on other people. [=other people began to have a positive attitude from being around her]
4. 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
1. I rubbed the dirt off (of) the penny.
• to remove (something) by rubbing especially with an eraser
1. She rubbed out [=(chiefly US) erased] the wrong answer from her paper and filled in the correct one.
• to murder (someone)
1. They say that the Mafia rubbed him out.
• to make a difficult situation even worse for someone
1. 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.)
1. He beat us all in the race and then rubbed our noses in it.
• to cause (someone) to be angry or annoyed
1. 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
1. After the car was washed, they gave the windshield a quick rub with a dry cloth.
2. Let me give you a back rub. [=let me rub/massage your back]
• something that causes a difficulty or problem
1. Therein/There lies the rub. [=that's the problem]
2. 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
1. He used his favorite rub on the steaks.
2. a dry rub for chicken