rub

Meanings

1. 1
   verb

   To move your hand or an object back and forth over a surface with pressure.

   She rubbed her hands together to keep warm.

2. 2
   verb

   To press against something and cause discomfort through friction.

   My new shoes are starting to rub against my heels.

3. 3
   verb

   To spread a substance over a surface by rubbing.

   He rubbed sunscreen onto the children's faces.

4. 4
   noun

   The act of rubbing something.

   Give the table a quick rub with this cloth.

5. 5
   noun

   A difficulty or problem.

   The plan sounds great, but there's the rub: we have no money.

Multiword verbs with rub

• rub off Phrasal verb B2

  to remove something from a surface by friction, or disappear in this way

Appears in

Simplified etymology

Rub is recorded from Middle English, but its origin is unknown, although parallel forms occur in other Germanic languages. Rubber originally meant an implement used for rubbing or cleaning; it acquired the sense “eraser” in the late 18th century and was generalized in the mid-19th century to the elastic substance in any form or use.

Inherited from Middle English rubben, of unknown origin; possibly ultimately from Proto-Germanic *rubbōną, related to *reufaną (“to tear”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian rubje (“to rub, scrape”), German Low German rubben (“to rub”), Low German rubblig (“rough, uneven”), Dutch robben, rubben (“to rub smooth; scrape; scrub”), Danish rubbe (“to rub, scrub”), Icelandic and Norwegian rubba (“to scrape”). More at reave. Compare typologically Latin fricō < friō < Proto-Indo-European *bʰreyH- (whence also Russian брить (britʹ, “to shave”)).

Topics

External links

• Google Images
• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary