rub

play

verb \ ˈrəb \

Definition of rub

rubbed; rubbing

intransitive verb

1 a :to move along the surface of a body with pressure :grate

b (1) :to fret or chafe with or as if with friction

(2) :to cause discontent, irritation, or anger

2 :to continue in a situation usually with slight difficulty

in spite of financial difficulties, he is rubbing along

3 :to admit of being rubbed (as for erasure or obliteration)

transitive verb

1 a :to subject to or as if to the action of something moving especially back and forth with pressure and friction

b (1) :to cause (a body) to move with pressure and friction along a surface

(2) :to treat in any of various ways by rubbing

c :to bring into reciprocal back-and-forth or rotary contact

2 :annoy, irritate

— rub elbows or rub shoulders

:to associate closely :mingle

— rub one's nose in

:to bring forcefully or repeatedly to one's attention

— rub the wrong way

:antagonize, irritate

See rub defined for English-language learners

See rub defined for kids

Examples of rub in a Sentence

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.
He rubbed his hands with glee.
There was a squeak when the boards rubbed together.
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.

Recent Examples of rub from the Web

Those rubbed many the wrong way — with many taking to Twitter to share their thoughts.

— gabe bergado, Teen Vogue, "VMAs 2017: Ariana Grande Fans Are Upset She Lost Artist of the Year to Ed Sheeran," 28 Aug. 2017
Or leave it plain and porky, rubbing it down with salt and a little pepper.

— melissa clark, New York Times, "Pork That’s Fast on the Grill, and Flavorful Too," 25 Aug. 2017
Huffington, one of two female members on Uber’s board of directors, has enjoyed a meteoric rise and outsize influence at the ride-hailing company, which has sometimes rubbed colleagues the wrong way.

— vanityfair.com, "A Major Uber Investor Is Allegedly Trying to Oust Arianna Huffington," 16 Aug. 2017
There are hugs, head rubs, and hip-thrusts; bounces, bows, and bites; shrugs, strokes, and somersaults.

— ed yong, The Atlantic, "Can Humans Understand Chimps?," 15 Aug. 2017
Yet the idea of increased armed forces spending to contain crime when several police forces are under-funded, rubs many people the wrong way in a country where the military ruled until just over three decades ago.

— samy adghirni, Bloomberg.com, "Brazil Democracy at Risk Without Defense Boost, Minister Says," 14 Aug. 2017
An employee from the Belk Department store contacted police when Narramore rubbed his foot while sitting in the bathroom stall next to him and exposed his genitals, an arrest citation states.

— thomas novelly, The Courier-Journal, "Ky GOP official accused of indecent exposure in Tennessee department store," 19 July 2017
The salmon, imported from Denmark’s Faroe Islands, is rubbed with salt, sugar, spices, and herbs.

— marielle wakim, Los Angeles Magazine, "Best of LA: 92 of Our Favorite Things to Eat, Do, and Buy Right Now," 14 July 2017
Without carbon there would be no polymers with which to make either wool or rubber, no muscles with which to rub the two together, no brains to conceive of doing so—or of explaining what happens afterwards.

— The Economist, "If the universe was not “fine-tuned”Reflections on the fine-structure constant," 13 July 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'rub.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of rub

Middle English rubben; akin to East Frisian rubben to rub, scrape, Icelandic rubba to scrape

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

See Words from the same year

rub Synonyms

Synonyms

chafe, corrade, erode, fray, frazzle, fret, gall, rasp, abrade, wear

Related Words

file, gnaw, grate, graze, grind, nibble, sandblast, sandpaper, scour, scrape, scuff, shave; erase, reduce, rub out, wear out, wipe (away); bite, break down, break up, chew, corrode, decompose, disintegrate, dissolve, eat; hone, sharpen, whet

Near Antonyms

coarsen, rough (up), roughen, scuff

rub

noun

Definition of rub

1 a :an unevenness of surface (as of the ground in lawn bowling)

b :obstruction, difficulty

the rub is that so few of the scholars have any sense of this truth themselves
—Benjamin Farrington

c :something grating to the feelings (such as a gibe or harsh criticism)

d :something that mars serenity

2 :the application of friction with pressure

an alcohol rub

3 US :a combination of spices that is rubbed into the surface of meat before the meat is cooked

used a dry rub on the pork ribs

See rub defined for English-language learners

Examples of rub in a Sentence

She's an amazing cook, but she rarely has time to make meals. There's the rub.
He used his favorite rub on the steaks.
a dry rub for chicken

Recent Examples of rub from the Web

More than 100,000 Facebook users shared it as a real story but here's the rub: The same thing allegedly happened to men in several other states, all with exactly the same story. HMMMMMMMMM.

— jeffrey lee puckett, The Courier-Journal, "Paducah man hires his own wife as a hooker and other fake news that can ruin your day," 25 Aug. 2017
Pitmaster Rob Magee makes everything from scratch (sauces, rubs, chipotle sausage, killer sides) at his trendy rustic-industrial hot spot in midtown.

— joyce smith, kansascity, "Have you been to these 3 KC restaurants on national ‘best’ & ‘must-try’ lists?," 16 Aug. 2017
Blowin' Smoke starts with dry rubs, first a layer of salty hot then a second layer of sweet.

— vickie snow jurkowski, Daily Southtown, "Ready to smoke, slather the competition," 27 July 2017
The nice ones ask permission, but the bolder ones will just get right up in there and give it a rub.

— claire landsbaum, The Cut, "What to Expect When You Buzz Off All Your Hair," 17 July 2017
Then—black-eyed, getting a shoulder rub on the other side of the ring—

— chelsea peng, Marie Claire, "Please, *Please* Stop Saying "No Problem"," 28 June 2017
Arrange wings on a large rimmed baking sheet and sprinkle half of rub over top.

— Bon Appetit, "Smoked Chicken Wings," 26 June 2017
But here’s the rub: Because the mortgage is not being repaid, all the interest owed as well as five different fees are added to the mortgage balance.

— laurence kotlikoff, The Seattle Times, "A reverse mortgage sounds great, but there are risks," 17 June 2017
With clean hands, sprinkle them evenly on both sides with ½ cup of the rub mixture, rubbing it in well.

— wolfgang puck, Twin Cities, "Fire up the grill to make mouth-watering baby back ribs on Dad’s special day," 14 June 2017

First Known Use of rub

1577

rub Synonyms

Synonyms

aggravation, aggro [British], bother, botheration, bugbear, exasperation, frustration, hair shirt, hassle, headache, inconvenience, irk, irritant, nuisance, peeve, pest, annoyance, ruffle, thorn, trial, vexation

Related Words

discomfort, fleabite, pinprick; affront, insult, offense (or offence); upset, worry; affliction, albatross, burden, cross, curse, menace, millstone, plague, sore; anxiety, plight, predicament, tribulation, trouble; hang-up, pet peeve, problem; annoyer, disturber, harasser, mischief, offender; pandora's box

Near Antonyms

delight, joy, pleasure

RUB Defined for English Language Learners

rub

play

verb

Definition of rub for English Language Learners

: to move something (such as your hand or an object) back and forth along the surface of (something) while pressing
: to move (two things) back and forth against each other
: to move back and forth many times against something in a way that causes pain or damage

rub

noun

Definition of rub for English Language Learners

: an act of rubbing a surface with your hands or an object
the rub : something that causes a difficulty or problem
: a combination of spices that is rubbed into the surface of meat before the meat is cooked

RUB Defined for Kids

rub

play

verb \ ˈrəb \

Definition of rub for Students

rubbed; rubbing

1 :to move along the surface of something with pressure

Kitty rubbed against my legs.

2 :to move back and forth against something in a way that causes pain or damage The back of my shoe is rubbing against my heel.

3 :to scour, polish, or smear by pressure and friction

He rubbed oil on the wood.

— rub elbows with

:to meet and talk with in a friendly way

Stink got to rub elbows with the president …
—Megan McDonald, Judy Moody

— rub in

:to keep reminding someone of (something unpleasant)

I know I looked silly. Don't rub it in.

— rub off

:to come off a surface and often stick to another surface by rubbing

The ink rubbed off on my fingers.

— rub the wrong way

:to cause to be angry :irritate

rub

noun

Definition of rub for Students

1 :the act of rubbing

a back rub

2 :something that causes a problem

Medical Dictionary

rub

play

noun \ ˈrəb \

medical Definition of rub

1 :the application of friction with pressure

an alcohol rub

2 :a sound heard in auscultation that is produced by the friction of one structure moving against another

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rub

Definition of rub

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First Known Use of rub

rub Synonyms

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RUB Defined for English Language Learners

rub

Definition of rub for English Language Learners

rub

Definition of rub for English Language Learners

RUB Defined for Kids

rub

Definition of rub for Students

rub

Definition of rub for Students

Medical Dictionary

rub

medical Definition of rub

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