rub

rub¹ S3 [rʌb] v past tense and past participle rubbed present participle rubbing

[Date: 1300-1400; Origin: Perhaps from Low German rubben]

1.) [I and T]

to move your hand, or something such as a cloth, backwards and forwards over a surface while pressing firmly

→↑stroke

rub your nose/chin/eyes/forehead etc

▪ She yawned and rubbed her eyes.

rub sth with sth

▪ She began rubbing her hair with a towel.

▪ You'll have to rub harder if you want to get it clean.

▪ I hurriedly rubbed myself dry.

2.) [I and T]

to make something press against something else and move it around

rub sth against/on sth

▪ She stood by the oven, rubbing one bare foot against the other.

rub against

▪ The cat purred loudly, rubbing against her legs.

rub sth together

▪ We tried to make a fire by rubbing two pieces of wood together.

▪ He rubbed his hands together with embarrassment.

3.) [I and T]

if shoes, clothes, or parts of a machine rub, they move around while pressing against another surface, often causing pain or damage

▪ Badly fitting shoes are bound to rub.

rub against/on

▪ The front left fender was smashed and rubbing against the wheel.

▪ The skin under my sock was rubbed raw (=the skin had come off) .

4.) [T always + adverb/preposition]

to put a substance into or onto a surface by pressing it and moving it about with your fingers or something such as a cloth

▪ Can you rub some sun cream on my back for me?

5.) rub shoulders with sb

informal also rub elbows with somebody AmE

to meet and spend time with people, especially rich and famous people

▪ As a reporter he gets to rub shoulders with all the big names in politics.

6.) rub salt into the wound informal

to make a bad situation even worse for someone

7.) rub sb up the wrong way

BrE informal rub sb the wrong way AmE informal to annoy someone by the things you say or do, usually without intending to

8.) be rubbing your hands informal

to be pleased because something has happened which gives you an advantage, especially because something bad has happened to someone else

9.) rub sb's nose in it/in the dirt informal

to keep reminding someone about something they did wrong or failed to do, especially in order to punish them

10.) not have two pennies/halfpennies/beans to rub together

BrE old-fashioned to not have any money

rub along phr v

to have a friendly relationship with someone

= ↑get along

▪ We rub along well most of the time.

rub along with/together

▪ By and large the Poles and Germans of the city had shown that they could rub along together.

rub down [rub sth/sb<=>down] phr v

1.) to make a surface smooth by rubbing it with ↑sandpaper

▪ That door needs rubbing down before you paint it.

2.) to dry a person or animal by rubbing them with a cloth, ↑towel etc

▪ The groom rubbed down the horses.

3.) to ↑massage someone, especially after exercise

rub in [rub sth<=>in] phr v

to remind someone about something they want to forget, especially because they are embarrassed about it

▪ Was he trying to rub in the fact that he didn't think much of me?

▪ I know I should have been more careful, but there's no need to keep rubbing it in .

rub off phr v

1.) to remove something from a surface by rubbing it, or to come off a surface because of being rubbed

rub sth off sth

▪ Jack rubbed the mud off his face.

rub sth<=>off

▪ She rubbed off her lipstick and eye shadow.

▪ Some of the gold paint had begun to rub off.

2.) if a feeling, quality, or habit rubs off on you, you start to have it because you are with another person who has it

rub off on

▪ She refused to give up, and her confidence rubbed off on the others.

rub out [rub sth/sb<=>out] phr v

1.) BrE to remove writing, a picture etc from a surface by rubbing it with a piece of rubber, a cloth etc

= ↑erase

▪ Draw the outline lightly with a soft pencil. This can be rubbed out later.

2.) AmE old-fashioned informal to murder someone

rub ²

rub² n

1.) give sb/sth a rub

to rub something or ↑massage someone for a short time

▪ Give the table a good rub with a damp cloth.

2.) there's/here's the rub

literary used when saying that a particular problem is the reason why a situation is so difficult - often used humorously