RUBS Synonyms: 130 Similar and Opposite Words

rubs 1 of 2

noun

plural of rub

as in headaches

something that is a source of irritation even what seems to be a dream job usually turns out to have its fair share of rubs

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rubs

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of rub

as in wears

to damage or diminish by continued friction the brake pads were rubbed away as a result of years of use

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as in grinds

to make smooth by friction the furniture restorer rubbed the board perfectly smooth with sandpaper

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as in polishes

to make smooth or glossy usually by repeatedly applying surface pressure the butler rubbed the silver tea set until it gleamed

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of rubs

Noun

So, to get noticed, deer mark areas with rubs and scrapes, known as signposts. —

New Atlas, 10 Feb. 2026 Barrel and Bones The smokehouse is offering two Game Day Wing Playoff Packs — one that includes 20 wings for $35 and another that includes 50 wings for $85 — with a variety of flavors, sauces and rubs. —

Zacharia Washington, Dallas Morning News, 6 Feb. 2026 After sitting for a few minutes, the original color rubs or peels away to reveal a natural-looking rosy stain. —

Grace McCarty, Glamour, 29 Jan. 2026 Beyond its famous buffalo-style chicken wings, Buffalo Wild Wings offers over two dozen sauces and dry rubs — from lemon pepper and Thai curry to desert heat and chipotle barbecue, according to its website. —

Tanasia Kenney, Charlotte Observer, 26 Jan. 2026 In their study describing the findings, published in Ecology and Evolution, the authors argue that these later marks are brighter because male deer antlers have fully hardened and their rubs can expose more inner wood. —

Anirban Mukhopadhyay, Scientific American, 21 Jan. 2026 The fieldwork covered 146 signposts in all, providing a broad look at 109 rubs and 37 scrapes across the forest. —

Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 26 Dec. 2025 In the footage, the performance character for the baseball team gives the pup head rubs, pets, and lots of extra comfort after his hard day. —

Rachel Raposas, PEOPLE, 16 Dec. 2025 Grating anything is usually a knuckle-threatening chore—but this stippled ceramic dish from Japan makes it into its own soothing ritual, turning a brown stem into liquidish gold with a few easy rubs. —

The Atlantic, 19 Nov. 2025

Verb

This might happen because antler rubs strip bark away, revealing lignin-rich inner wood that reemits the longer wavelengths in a way bark does not. —

Anirban Mukhopadhyay, Scientific American, 21 Jan. 2026 Unfortunately, Martin’s blunt and borderline rude bedside manner rubs the quirky, needy locals the wrong way, including schoolteacher Louisa Gavin (Abigail Spencer). —

Katie Campione, Deadline, 21 Jan. 2026 There’s also Darem (George Hawkins), an arrogant rich-kid who immediately rubs Caleb the wrong way, and Genesis (Bella Shepard), a high-achieving nepo baby/admiral’s daughter who’s composed but competitive. —

Ben Travers, IndieWire, 15 Jan. 2026 The team believes that rubs’ glow may be made from a combination of plant and tree sap and secretions from the animal’s forehead glands. —

Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 14 Jan. 2026 Every time the user blinks, their eyelid rubs against the PDMS contact lens. —

Abhimanyu Ghoshal, New Atlas, 12 Jan. 2026 Dramatic silence after someone makes a comment that rubs them the wrong way. —

Valerie Mesa, PEOPLE, 25 Dec. 2025 Finally, with the boom of a cannon and the roar of the crowd, each team member and coach rubs Howard’s Rock for luck before hurtling down the hill toward the home sideline. —

Elizabeth Hutchison Hicklin, Southern Living, 8 Nov. 2025 Here, modernity rubs lightly up against traditional Japanese ryokans (or guesthouses) and an abundance of natural beauty. —

Jonnie Bayfield, Condé Nast Traveler, 20 Oct. 2025

Recent Examples of Synonyms for rubs

Noun

Major industry groups including the American Petroleum Institute have not fought to kill the federal endangerment finding, because a patchwork of state laws could ultimately replace it — leading to legal headaches and a raft of nuisance lawsuits against them, experts said.

— Ella Nilsen, CNN Money, 24 Feb. 2026
The philosopher’s epic struggles with headaches led in part to his belief that God was dead, and also to a belief that pain, both physical and emotional, was more generative than health.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 24 Feb. 2026