rubber

B1 Topic:Materials & Substances

US /ˈɹʌbɚ/ UK /ˈɹʌbə/ See IPA manual

Freq #4617

Meanings

1

noun
A strong, stretchy material made from the sap of a tree or made artificially.

Car tyres are made of rubber.
2

noun
A small object used to remove pencil marks; an eraser.

Can I borrow your rubber to fix this mistake?
3

verb
To coat or cover something with rubber.

The fabric is rubbered to make it waterproof.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

2 noun · a small object used to... eraser

3 verb · to coat or cover something... rubberize

Word family

Forms rubbers

Derived forms cyclorubberflubberhog-rubbernanorubbernonrubberrubber-bandrubber-duckrubber-duckedrubber-duckingrubber-hoserubber-neckerrubber-stamp

Appears in

Phrases (2)

See all

Idioms (1)

See all

rubber duck debugging
to debug or solve a problem by explaining it line by line, out loud, to an inanimate object such as a rubber duck

Etymology

From rub + -er. The sense of the substance comes from its ability to function as an eraser, displacing earlier caoutchouc. The senses not pertaining to rubbing or erasing are secondarily derived from the name of the substance.

Topics

Materials & Substances

External links

# rubber

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B1
**Part of speech:** noun, verb
**IPA (US):** /ˈɹʌbɚ/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈɹʌbə/
**Frequency rank:** 4617

## Meanings
1. A strong, stretchy material made from the sap of a tree or made artificially.
2. A small object used to remove pencil marks; an eraser.
3. To coat or cover something with rubber.

## Examples
- Car tyres are made of rubber.
- Can I borrow your rubber to fix this mistake?
- The fabric is rubbered to make it waterproof.

## Derived Forms
- cyclorubber
- flubber
- hog-rubber
- nanorubber
- nonrubber
- rubber-band
- rubber-duck
- rubber-ducked
- rubber-ducking
- rubber-hose
- rubber-necker
- rubber-stamp

## Etymology
From rub + -er. The sense of the substance comes from its ability to function as an eraser, displacing earlier caoutchouc. The senses not pertaining to rubbing or erasing are secondarily derived from the name of the substance.

## AI Etymology
Rubber comes from rub + -er. The sense of the substance comes from its ability to function as an eraser, displacing earlier caoutchouc. The senses not pertaining to rubbing or erasing are secondarily derived from the name of the substance. Modern senses include a strong, stretchy material made from the sap of a tree or made artificially. and a small object used to remove pencil marks; an eraser.. The wider word family includes derivatives such as cyclorubber, flubber, hog-rubber, nanorubber, nonrubber, and rubber-band.

## Topics
- Materials & Substances

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