# scrub

Pronunciation: US say "SKRUB" /skɹʌb/; UK

## Verb

1. To rub something hard to clean or brighten it, usually with a wet brush or something coarse; also, to do this kind of hard cleaning.
   - Simple: To clean something by rubbing it hard, usually with a brush, soap and water.
   - _She knelt to scrub the stains out of the porch steps with a stiff brush._
   - _He scrubbed the old pans with steel wool until the copper gleamed._
6. To cancel a scheduled event or undertaking before it goes ahead.
   - Simple: To cancel something that was planned.
   - _Mission control scrubbed the launch with ninety seconds left on the clock._
   - _We may have to scrub Saturday's hike if the trail is still flooded._
8. To find and correct or remove errors, duplicates, and inconsistencies in a set of records so that the data is accurate and consistent.
   - Simple: To clean up computer records by fixing mistakes and taking out repeated or wrong data.
   - _Analysts scrub the customer list to remove duplicates and fix misspelled street names._
   - _Before the merger, the vendor's files had to be scrubbed so that dates and zip codes followed one format._
9. To move quickly backward or forward through an audio or video recording to find a particular point, by dragging a slider or control, or originally by rocking the tape by hand.
   - Simple: To move back and forth through a recording, for example by dragging a slider, to find an exact spot.
   - _Editors scrub along the timeline to find the exact frame where a cut should fall._
   - _She scrubbed through two hours of footage before she found the moment the goal went in._

## Noun

2. Stunted trees and bushes growing thickly in poor, dry or sandy soil, or land covered with them; often named after the main plant, as in palmetto scrub.
   - Simple: Low bushes and small trees growing thickly in poor, dry soil, or land covered with them.
   - _Beyond the dunes, the land gave way to thorny scrub that tore at their legs._
   - _Ranchers cleared the scrub to plant grass for their cattle._
3. A skin-care product rubbed on the body to remove dead skin cells; an exfoliant.
   - Simple: A cream or mix that you rub on your skin to take off dead skin.
   - _The spa offers a sea-salt scrub followed by an hour-long massage._
   - _Dermatologists suggest using gentle scrubs only once or twice a week to avoid irritation._
4. Any medical uniform made up of a short-sleeved shirt and pants; usually plural.
   - Simple: Any uniform for medical work that is a short-sleeved shirt with pants.
   - _The night nurse, in faded blue scrubs, checked each patient's chart before the end of her shift._
   - _The dental hygienist wore a scrub top printed with cartoon teeth._
5. An act of scrubbing: a spell of hard rubbing to clean something.
   - Simple: A time when you clean something by rubbing it hard.
   - _After a long scrub with a stiff brush, the deck looked almost new._
   - _The grill could use a scrub before the guests arrive._
7. A thing used for scrubbing, such as a stiff brush or a scouring pad.
   - Simple: A brush or pad that you clean things with by rubbing hard.
   - _Keep a nylon scrub by the sink for the roasting pans._
   - _Copper scrubs lift burnt-on food but can scratch a nonstick pan._
10. A cancellation of something scheduled.
   - Simple: The calling off of a planned event.
   - _High winds forced a scrub just minutes before liftoff._
   - _After two scrubs in one week, the crew finally launched on Friday morning._
11. Someone who is incompetent or bad at something, especially an unskilled player in games who makes excuses or blames others when beaten. *(slang)*
   - Simple: A person who is bad at something, especially a weak gamer who blames others or the game when losing.
   - _Locked the keys in the car twice in one day? What a scrub._
   - _The veterans dismissed the new hires as scrubs who couldn't even work the copier._
12. A player who is not on the first team; a substitute. *(slang)*
   - Simple: A player who is not one of the main players on a team, a backup.
   - _As a freshman he was a scrub who spent most games on the bench._
   - _With a thirty-point lead, the coach sent in the scrubs for the last quarter._
13. A brush or broom worn out with use.
   - Simple: An old brush or broom that is worn out.
14. A common local farm animal of no particular or pure breed, often undersized; especially a male poorly suited for breeding. *(US)*
   - Simple: A farm animal of no special breed, often small, especially a male not good for breeding.
   - _Extension agents urged ranchers to replace their scrub bulls with registered stock._
   - _That runty scrub will never sire a decent calf._
15. A worthless or contemptible person, now especially a man with no money or ambition who expects others to pay his way.
   - Simple: A worthless person, today often a man with no money or plans who lets others pay for him.
   - _Don't waste your time on some scrub who borrows your car and never pays for gas._
   - _The squire dismissed the laborers waiting at his gate as a pack of scrubs._

## Adjective

16. Mean, dirty and contemptible; of a shabby, second-rate kind.
   - Simple: Poor, dirty and not worth much.

## Noun

17. Informal clothing or an informal standard of dress; morning dress, in the older sense of plain daytime wear. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: Plain, everyday clothes, not dressed up.

## Other meanings

- (noun) A person who scrubs things clean.
- (verb) To work diligently while living poorly or very thriftily.

## Origin

**Meanings 2, 11–12, 14–16** — Shrub took this altered form in late Middle English, and at first it meant "stunted tree."
**Meanings 1, 3–10, 13, 17** — Middle Dutch schrobben ("to clean by scrubbing") gave Middle English scrobben, which meant "to groom a horse with a currycomb."

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