tubs

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of tub.

   Workers scrubbed the fermentation tubs before starting the next batch.

   The showroom displayed several freestanding tubs along the back wall.

   Note

   The plural carries every sense the singular has, from the washing or packing vessel to the bathtub and the small cask. When it counts contents rather than containers, as in two tubs of butter, it works as a measure, the way cups or barrels do. Calling boats or pulpits tubs is informal and often mocking. The same spelling also serves as the verb's present form: she tubs the plants.

2. 2
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present of tub.

   The dairy worker tubs the fresh butter before it goes to market.

   Each fall she tubs the young citrus trees so they can be moved indoors.

   Note

   A verb made straight from the noun, and its -s form covers two quite different jobs. In the storing or planting sense it always takes an object: she tubs the young citrus trees, he tubs the butter. In the bathing sense the object is optional. A parent tubs the toddler, or a person simply tubs every evening, with the bath itself understood.

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