scrub

USSKRUB/skɹʌb/

Verbscrubs, scrubbing, scrubbed

Noun pluralscrubs (some meanings)

19 meanings of scrub

Practice

1
verbtransitive
To clean something by rubbing it hard, usually with a brush, soap and water.
Scrub your hands with soap before dinner.
I scrubbed the kitchen floor until it was spotless.
UsageYou can scrub something clean, or scrub dirt off it.
Note
2
noununcountable
Low bushes and small trees growing thickly in poor, dry soil, or land covered with them.
The rabbit ran into the scrub and disappeared.
The road went on for miles through dry scrub.
Similarbrush, bush, brushwood
3
skin productnouncountable
A cream or mix that you rub on your skin to take off dead skin.
I use a sugar scrub on my elbows and knees.
Rub the scrub on wet skin, then rinse it off.
Similarexfoliant, exfoliator
4
medical clothesnouncountableplural
Any uniform for medical work that is a short-sleeved shirt with pants.
My mom wears pink scrubs to her job at the children's clinic.
The vet's helper had on a scrub top with little paw prints on it.
UsageSay scrubs for the outfit and scrub top for the shirt.
5
cleaning effortnouncountable
A time when you clean something by rubbing it hard.
Give your hands a quick scrub before you eat.
This pot just needs a good scrub.
UsagePeople often say give it a good scrub.
Similarrub, wash, clean
6
cancelverbtransitive
To cancel something that was planned.
They had to scrub the game because of the storm.
The school scrubbed the field trip at the last minute.
Similarcancel, abort, scrap
7
nouncountable
A brush or pad that you clean things with by rubbing hard.
Use the green scrub to clean the pan.
We need a new scrub for the dishes.
Similarscourer
8
fix dataverbtransitive
To clean up computer records by fixing mistakes and taking out repeated or wrong data.
We scrub the sales data every month to fix mistakes.
She scrubbed the list and took out all the repeated names.
Similarclean, cleanse
Note
9
verbintransitive
To move back and forth through a recording, for example by dragging a slider, to find an exact spot.
Scrub through the video to find your favorite part.
He scrubbed back a few seconds to hear the line again.
UsageOften scrub through a video, or scrub back a few seconds.
Similarscroll, skim, scan, shuttle
Note

Less common meanings

10
cancellationnouncountable
The calling off of a planned event.
The rain caused a scrub, so the rocket stayed on the ground.
There were three scrubs before the launch finally happened.
Similarcancellation
Note
11
nounslangderogatorycountable
A person who is bad at something, especially a weak gamer who blames others or the game when losing.
You lost to a beginner? What a scrub!
Only a scrub would burn the toast three times in a row.
Similarnoob, loser, amateur
12
backup playernounslangcountable
A player who is not one of the main players on a team, a backup.
I was a scrub on my high school basketball team.
The scrubs got to play when the game was almost over.
Similarsubstitute, reserve, benchwarmer, sub
Oppositestarter
Note
13
nouncountable
An old brush or broom that is worn out.
A scrub [broom worn out] Scopa detrita.
1752, Robert Ainsworth, Thesaurus Linguae Latinae CompendiariusHere, scrub means a broom that is worn out from use.
14
mixed-breed livestocknounUScountable
A farm animal of no special breed, often small, especially a male not good for breeding.
The farmer sold his scrub and bought a better bull.
That little scrub will never be a good bull for the herd.
UsageOften before another noun: scrub bull, scrub cattle.
Note
15
lowly personnounderogatorycountable
A worthless person, today often a man with no money or plans who lets others pay for him.
She said her ex was a scrub who never kept a job.
The rich man called his workers scrubs.
Similarlowlife, wretch
Note
16
adjective
Poor, dirty and not worth much.
How solitary, how scrub, does this town look!
1743, Horace Walpole, letter to Sir Horace MannHere, scrub means shabby and second-rate.
No little scrub joint shall come on my board.
1729, Jonathan Swift, The Grand Question Debated of Hamilton's BawnHere, scrub means cheap, shabby, and second-rate.
Note
17
nounobsolete
Plain, everyday clothes, not dressed up.
For one of Lucia's quaint ideas was to divide dresses into three classes, "Hightum," "Tightum" and "Scrub."
1920, E. F. Benson, Queen LuciaHere, Scrub means plain, everyday clothes for informal wear.
The third, which was as homely as its name, and which she reserved for scouring the country and such like rough usage in quite private rural life, was her "Scrub."
1876, “Hightum, Titum, and Scrub!”, in The Leisure HourHere, Scrub means plain clothes for rough, everyday wear.
Note
18
noundated
A person who cleans by scrubbing.
19
verbdated
To work very hard and live on very little money.

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of scrub apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origins

Meanings 2, 11–12, 14–16

An old variant of the word shrub.

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 1 fact

Scrub is an old variant of shrub. en.wiktionary.org

Meanings 1, 3–10, 13, 17

From a Middle Dutch word meaning "to clean by scrubbing".

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 1 fact

Scrub derives from a Middle Dutch word meaning to clean by scrubbing. en.wiktionary.org