# rub

Pronunciation: say "RUB" /ɹʌb/

## Verb

1. To move one object back and forth against another while keeping them in contact, with pressure and friction.
   - Simple: To press something against a surface and move it back and forth.
   - _She rubbed her temples slowly, trying to ease the headache._
   - _Rub the wax over the wood in small circles until the surface gleams._
2. To move against another surface with pressure and friction.
   - Simple: To keep touching and moving against something else.
   - _The fan blade rubs against its housing and makes a faint clicking sound._
   - _Brake pads rub on the wheel rim to slow the bicycle._
7. To spread a substance thinly over something; to smear.
   - Simple: To spread something in a thin layer over a surface.
   - _Rub a thin coat of oil onto the blade to keep it from rusting._
   - _He rubbed sunscreen across the kids' shoulders before they ran back into the surf._
8. To scour, polish, brighten, or cleanse; often used with up or over.
   - Simple: To clean or polish something to make it bright again.
   - _Rub the brass up before the guests arrive._
   - _He rubbed over the scuffed leather until the marks faded into the grain._
9. To hinder, cross, or thwart a person, plan, or purpose.
   - Simple: To get in the way of a plan and stop it from working.
   - _Every scheme the minister laid was rubbed by rivals at court._
   - _Let no small doubt rub our purpose now that we have begun._
11. In bowls, to touch the jack with one's bowl.
   - Simple: In the game of bowls, to touch the small target ball with the ball you roll.
   - _His final wood rubbed the jack and settled a hand's width away._
   - _Some players try to rub the jack on purpose and nudge it toward their own bowls._

## Noun

3. An act of rubbing one thing against another.
   - Simple: The act of pressing and moving your hand or a cloth over something.
   - _His shoulders ached, so she gave them a gentle rub._
   - _A rub with steel wool took the rust right off the hinge._
4. A difficulty or problem that complicates a situation or plan.
   - Simple: A problem or difficulty that makes a plan hard to carry out.
   - _The design is brilliant; the rub is that no factory can build it cheaply._
   - _Therein lies the rub: the merger needs approval from regulators in three countries._
5. A mixture of spices applied to the surface of meat before it is barbecued.
   - Simple: A mix of spices pressed onto meat before it is barbecued.
   - _He pressed a brown-sugar rub into the brisket the night before the cookout._
   - _Her rub combines paprika, cumin, garlic powder, and a pinch of cayenne._
6. Any preparation intended to be rubbed into or onto something, such as a liniment.
   - Simple: A cream or other substance that you put on by rubbing it in.
   - _The trainer worked a menthol rub into the sprinter's calf._
   - _Farriers apply a softening rub to dry, cracked hooves._
10. In crown green bowls, any obstacle that diverts a bowl from its normal course.
   - Simple: In the game of bowls, anything on the ground that pushes a rolling ball off its path.
   - _A rub near the ditch carried his bowl a foot wide of the jack._
   - _She blamed the loss on an unlucky rub halfway up the green._
12. A sum of money lent or borrowed; a loan. *(slang, UK)*
   - Simple: Money that someone lends you for a short time.
   - _Any chance of a rub till Friday? I'm skint until we get paid._
   - _He touched his messmate for a rub of five pounds before shore leave._

## Verb

13. To move or pass along with difficulty; to get by. *(dated)*
   - Simple: To keep going or get through a hard time with difficulty.
   - _They rubbed through the hard months on salt pork and thin soup._
   - _We shall rub along well enough until the harvest comes in._

## Noun

14. A quip or sarcastic remark. *(archaic)*
   - Simple: A joke or unkind remark that makes fun of someone.
   - _Each rub from the old wit drew laughter around the dinner table._
   - _The pamphlet was full of sly rubs at the minister and his friends._

## Origin

Inherited from Middle English rubben, of unknown origin, possibly from Proto-Germanic *rubbōną, related to *reufaną ("to tear"). It has cognates in several Germanic languages, such as German Low German rubben and Danish rubbe, both meaning "to rub" or "scrub".

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/rub (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).