rub

• POS: Noun, Verb (usu participle), Verb (transitive)
• COUNT in NET: 3 in 3 verses (in OT : 3 in 3 verses)

CIDE DICTIONARY

rub, v. t. [Probably of Celtic origin; cf. W. rhwbiaw, gael. rub.].

•  To subject (a body) to the action of something moving over its surface with pressure and friction, especially to the action of something moving back and forth; as, to rub the flesh with the hand; to rub wood with sandpaper.  [1913 Webster]

  "It shall be expedient, after that body is cleaned, to rub the body with a coarse linen cloth."  [1913 Webster]
•  To move over the surface of (a body) with pressure and friction; to graze; to chafe; as, the boat rubs the ground.  [1913 Webster]
•  To cause (a body) to move with pressure and friction along a surface; as, to rub the hand over the body.  [1913 Webster]

  "Two bones rubbed hard against one another."  [1913 Webster]
•  To spread a substance thinly over; to smear.  [1913 Webster]

  "The smoothed plank, . . .
  New rubbed with balm."  [1913 Webster]
•  To scour; to burnish; to polish; to brighten; to cleanse; -- often with up or over; as, to rub up silver.  [1913 Webster]

  "The whole business of our redemption is to rub over the defaced copy of the creation."  [1913 Webster]
•  To hinder; to cross; to thwart.  [1913 Webster]

  "'T is the duke's pleasure,
  Whose disposition, all the world well knows,
  Will not be rubbed nor stopped."  [1913 Webster]

To rub down. (a) To clean by rubbing; to comb or curry; as, to down a horse. (b) To reduce or remove by rubbing; as, to rub down the rough points. -- To rub off, to clean anything by rubbing; to separate by friction; as, to rub off rust. -- To rub out, to remove or separate by friction; to erase; to obliterate; as, to rub out a mark or letter; to rub out a stain. -- To rub up. (a) To burnish; to polish; to clean. (b) To excite; to awaken; to rouse to action; as, to rub up the memory.

rub, v. i. 

•  To move along the surface of a body with pressure; to grate; as, a wheel rubs against the gatepost.  [1913 Webster]
•  To fret; to chafe; as, to rub upon a sore.  [1913 Webster]
•  To move or pass with difficulty; as, to rub through woods, as huntsmen; to rub through the world.  [1913 Webster]

To rub along or on, to go on with difficulty; as, they manage, with strict economy, to rub along. [Colloq.]

rub, n. [Cf. W. rhwb. See Rub, v,t,].

•  The act of rubbing; friction.  [1913 Webster]
•  That which rubs; that which tends to hinder or obstruct motion or progress; hindrance; obstruction, an impediment; especially, a difficulty or obstruction hard to overcome; a pinch.  [1913 Webster]

  "Every rub is smoothed on our way."  [1913 Webster]

  "To sleep, perchance to dream; ay, there's the rub."  [1913 Webster]

  "Upon this rub, the English ambassadors thought fit to demur."  [1913 Webster]

  "One knows not, certainly, what other rubs might have been ordained for us by a wise Providence."  [1913 Webster]
•  Inequality of surface, as of the ground in the game of bowls; unevenness.  Shak.  [1913 Webster]
•  Something grating to the feelings; sarcasm; joke; as, a hard rub.  [1913 Webster]
•  Imperfection; failing; fault.  Beau. & Fl.  [1913 Webster]
•  A chance.  [1913 Webster]

  "Flight shall leave no Greek a rub."  [1913 Webster]
•  A stone, commonly flat, used to sharpen cutting tools; a whetstone; -- called also rubstone.  [1913 Webster]

Rub iron, an iron guard on a wagon body, against which a wheel rubs when cramped too much. -- Rub of the green (Golf), anything happening to a ball in motion, such as its being deflected or stopped by any agency outside the match, or by the fore caddie.

OXFORD DICTIONARY

rub, v. & n.
--v. (rubbed, rubbing)
1 tr. move one's hand or another object with firm pressure over the surface of.
2 tr. (usu. foll. by against, in, on, over) apply (one's hand etc.) in this way.
3 tr. clean or polish or make dry or bare by rubbing.
4 tr. (often foll. by over) apply (polish, ointment, etc.) by rubbing.
5 tr. (foll. by in, into, through) use rubbing to make (a substance) go into or through something.
6 tr. (often foll. by together) move or slide (objects) against each other.
7 intr. (foll. by against, on) move with contact or friction.
8 tr. chafe or make sore by rubbing.
9 intr. (of cloth, skin, etc.) become frayed or worn or sore or bare with friction.
10 tr. reproduce the design of (a sepulchral brass or a stone) by rubbing paper laid on it with heelball or coloured chalk etc.
11 tr. (foll. by to) reduce to powder etc. by rubbing.
12 intr. Bowls (of a bowl) be slowed or diverted by the unevenness of the ground.
--n.
1 a spell or an instance of rubbing (give it a rub).
2 a an impediment or difficulty (there's the rub). b Bowls an inequality of the ground impeding or diverting a bowl; the diversion or hindering of a bowl by this.

Idiom

rub along colloq. cope or manage without undue difficulty. rub down dry or smooth or clean by rubbing. rub-down n. an instance of rubbing down. rub elbows with US = rub shoulders with. rub one's hands rub one's hands together usu. in sign of keen satisfaction, or for warmth. rub it in (or rub a person's nose in it) emphasize or repeat an embarrassing fact etc. rub noses rub one's nose against another's in greeting. rub off
1 (usu. foll. by on) be transferred by contact, be transmitted (some of his attitudes have rubbed off on me).
2 remove by rubbing. rub of (or on) the green Golf an accidental interference with the course or position of a ball. rub on colloq. = rub along.
rub out
1 erase with a rubber.
2 esp. US sl. kill, eliminate. rub shoulders with associate or come into contact with (another person).
rub up
1 polish (a tarnished object).
2 brush up (a subject or one's memory).
3 mix (pigment etc.) into paste by rubbing. rub-up n. the act or an instance of rubbing up. rub up the wrong way irritate or repel as by stroking a cat against the lie of its fur.

rub, n. = RUBBER(2).

Etymology

abbr.

THESAURUS

rub

Discordia, Eris, ablate, abrade, abrase, afflict, aggravate, agonize, ail, air-dry, anhydrate, annoy, apple of discord, attouchement, bake, bandage, bar, bark, bathe, bite, block, blockade, blot, bone of contention, bone to pick, bother, bottleneck, breath, brush, brush by, buff, burn, burnish, care for, caress, casus belli, catch, catch a likeness, chafe, character, characterize, chart, clash, clashing, climacteric, clutch, come in contact, conflict, confrication, contact, contention, contingence, convergence of events, convulse, cordon, crimp, crisis, critical juncture, critical point, crossroads, crow to pick, crow to pluck, crucial period, crucify, crunch, crux, cure, curtain, cut, cutaneous sense, dehumidify, dehydrate, delineate, depict, desiccate, determent, deterrent, diagnose, diagram, difficulty, disaccord, disaffinity, discord, discordance, discordancy, disharmony, distress, doctor, drain, draw, drawback, dry, emergency, enmity, erase, erode, evaporate, exasperate, excoriate, excruciate, exigency, exsiccate, extremity, feel, feel up, feeling, fester, file, fingertip caress, finish, fire, flick, flux, fondle, fray, frazzle, fret, frication, friction, frictionize, frottage, furbish, gall, give care to, give pain, glance, glaze, gloss, gnaw, gnaw away, grate, graze, grind, gripe, grounds for war, hamper, hand-mindedness, hang-up, harrow, hazard, heal, hinge, hit, hit off, hitch, hurdle, hurt, impediment, impinge, impingement, impingence, incompatibility, incompatibleness, inflame, inflict pain, inharmoniousness, inharmony, insolate, irk, irritate, jangle, jar, joker, kill by inches, kiln, kiss, knead, lacerate, lambency, lap, lick, light touch, limn, luster, map, martyr, martyrize, massage, minister to, mischief, mummify, nettle, nip, noncooperation, nose, notate, nudge, nurse, nuzzle, objection, obstacle, obstruction, obstructive, one small difficulty, open conflict, operate on, osculate, osculation, pain, paint, parch, pass, peeve, perfrication, pet, physic, picture, picturize, pierce, pinch, plaster, polish, portray, poultice, prick, print, prolong the agony, provoke, purge, push, put to torture, rack, rankle, rasp, raze, register, remedy, render, represent, rile, rub against, rub away, rub down, rub noses, rub off, rub out, rubbing, ruffle, schematize, scorch, scour, scrape, scrub, scuff, sear, sense of touch, shave, shine, shrivel, sideswipe, skim, skin, skirt, sleek, slick, slick down, smoke, snag, soak up, sore point, splint, sponge, squeak by, stab, sting, strained relations, strait, strap, stroke, stumbling block, stumbling stone, sun, sun-dry, swab, symbolize, tactile sense, taction, take a rubbing, tangency, tap, tender spot, tension, tentative contact, tentative poke, ticklish issue, torment, torrefy, torture, touch, touching, towel, trace, trace out, trace over, traverse, treat, turn, turning point, tweak, twist, unharmoniousness, unpleasantness, varnish, vex, wax, wear, wear away, weazen, whisper, wipe, wither, wizen, wound, wring, write

ROGET THESAURUS

rub

Difficulty

N difficulty, hardness, impracticability, tough work, hard work, uphill work, hard task, Herculean task, Augean task, task of Sisyphus, Sisyphean labor, tough job, teaser, rasper, dead lift, dilemma, embarrassment, deadlock, perplexity, intricacy, entanglement, complexity, cross fire, awkwardness, delicacy, ticklish card to play, knot, Gordian knot, dignus vindice nodus, net, meshes, maze, coil, crooked path, involvement, nice point, delicate point, subtle point, knotty point, vexed question, vexata quaestio, poser, puzzle, paradox, hard nut to crack, nut to crack, bone to pick, crux, pons asinorum, where the shoe pinches, nonplus, quandary, strait, pass, pinch, pretty pass, stress, brunt, critical situation, crisis, trial, rub, emergency, exigency, scramble, scrape, hobble, slough, quagmire, hot water, hornet's nest, sea of troubles, peck of troubles, pretty kettle of fish, pickle, stew, imbroglio, mess, ado, false position, set fast, stand, standstill, deadlock, dead set, fix, horns of a dilemma, cul de sac, hitch, stumbling block, crab, curmudgeon, difficult, not easy, hard, tough, troublesome, toilsome, irksome, operose, laborious, onerous, arduous, Herculean, formidable, sooner said than done, more easily said than done, easier said than done, difficult to deal with, hard to deal with, ill-conditioned, crabbed, crabby, not to be handled with kid gloves, not made with rose water, awkward, unwieldy, unmanageable, intractable, stubborn, perverse, refractory, plaguy, trying, thorny, rugged, knotted, knotty, invious, pathless, trackless, labyrinthine, intricate, complicated, impracticable, not feasible, desperate, embarrassing, perplexing, delicate, ticklish, critical, beset with difficulties, full of difficulties, surrounded by difficulties, entangled by difficulties, encompassed with difficulties, under a difficulty, in a box, in difficulty, in hot water, in the suds, in a cleft stick, in a fix, in the wrong box, in a scrape, in deep water, in a fine pickle, in extremis, between two stools, between Scylla and Charybdis, surrounded by shoals, surrounded by breakers, surrounded by quicksands, at cross purposes, not out of the wood, reduced to straits, hard pressed, sorely pressed, run hard, pinched, put to it, straitened, hard up, hard put to it, hard set, put to one's shifts, puzzled, at a loss, at the end of one's tether, at the end of one's rope, at one's wit's end, at a nonplus, at a standstill, graveled, nonplused, nonplussed, stranded, aground, stuck fast, set fast, up a tree, at bay, aux abois, driven into a corner, driven from pillar to post, driven to extremity, driven to one's wit's end, driven to the wall, au bout de son Latin, out of one's depth, thrown out, accomplished with difficulty, hard-fought, hard-earned, with difficulty, with much ado, barely, hardly, uphill, against the stream, against the grain, d rebours, invita Minerva, in the teeth of, at a pinch, upon a pinch, at long odds, against long odds, ay there's the rub, hic labor hoc opus, things are come to a pretty pass, ab inconvenienti, ad astra per aspera, acun chemin de fleurs ne conduit a la gloire.

Adversity

N adversity, evil, failure, bad luck, ill luck, evil luck, adverse luck, hard fortune, hard hap, hard luck, hard lot, frowns of fortune, evil dispensation, evil star, evil genius, vicissitudes of life, ups and downs of life, broken fortunes, hard case, hard lines, hard life, sea of troubles, peck of troubles, hell upon earth, slough of despond, trouble, hardship, curse, blight, blast, load, pressure, pressure of the times, iron age, evil day, time out of joint, hard times, bad times, sad times, rainy day, cloud, dark cloud, gathering clouds, ill wind, visitation, infliction, affliction, bitter pill, care, trial, the sport of fortune, mishap, mischance, misadventure, misfortune, disaster, calamity, catastrophe, accident, casualty, cross, reverse, check, contretemps, rub, backset, comedown, setback, losing game, falling, fall, downfall, ruination, ruinousness, undoing, extremity, ruin, unfortunate, unblest, unhappy, unlucky, improsperous, unprosperous, hoodooed, luckless, hapless, out of luck, in trouble, in a bad way, in an evil plight, under a cloud, clouded, ill off, badly off, in adverse circumstances, poor, behindhand, down in the world, decayed, undone, on the road to ruin, on its last legs, on the wane, in one's utmost need, planet-struck, devoted, born under an evil star, born with a wooden ladle in one's mouth, ill-fated, ill-starred, ill-omened, adverse, untoward, disastrous, calamitous, ruinous, dire, deplorable.

Painfulness

N painfulness, trouble, care, trial, affliction, infliction, blow, stroke, burden, load, curse, bitter pill, bitter draught, waters of bitterness, annoyance, grievance, nuisance, vexation, mortification, sickener, bore, bother, pother, hot water, sea of troubles, hornet's nest, plague, pest, cancer, ulcer, sting, thorn, canker, scorpion, dagger, scourge, carking care, canker worm of care, mishap, misfortune, desagrement, esclandre, rub, source of irritation, source of annoyance, wound, open sore, sore subject, skeleton in the closet, thorn in the flesh, thorn in one's side, where the shoe pinches, gall and wormwood, sorry sight, heavy news, provocation, affront, head and front of one's offending, infestation, molestation, malignity, causing pain, hurting, hurtful, painful, dolorific, dolorous, unpleasant, unpleasing, displeasing, disagreeable, unpalatable, bitter, distasteful, uninviting, unwelcome, undesirable, undesired, obnoxious, unacceptable, unpopular, thankless, unsatisfactory, untoward, unlucky, uncomfortable, distressing, afflicting, afflictive, joyless, cheerless, comfortless, dismal, disheartening, depressing, depressive, dreary, melancholy, grievous, piteous, woeful, rueful, mournful, deplorable, pitiable, lamentable, sad, affecting, touching, pathetic, irritating, provoking, stinging, annoying, aggravating, mortifying, galling, unaccommodating, invidious, vexatious, troublesome, tiresome, irksome, wearisome, plaguing, plaguy, awkward, importunate, teasing, pestering, bothering, harassing, worrying, tormenting, carking, intolerable, insufferable, insupportable, unbearable, unendurable, past bearing, not to be borne, not to be endured, more than flesh and blood can bear, enough to drive one mad, enough to provoke a saint, enough to make a parson swear, enough to gag a maggot, shocking, terrific, grim, appalling, crushing, dreadful, fearful, frightful, thrilling, tremendous, dire, heart-breaking, heart-rending, heart-wounding, heart-corroding, heart-sickening, harrowing, rending, odious, hateful, execrable, repulsive, repellent, abhorrent, horrid, horrible, horrific, horrifying, offensive, nauseous, nauseating, disgusting, sickening, revolting, nasty, loathsome, loathful, fulsome, vile, hideous, sharp, acute, sore, severe, grave, hard, harsh, cruel, biting, caustic, cutting, corroding, consuming, racking, excruciating, searching, grinding, grating, agonizing, envenomed, catheretic, pyrotic, ruinous, disastrous, calamitous, tragical, desolating, withering, burdensome, onerous, oppressive, cumbrous, cumbersome, painfully, with pain, deuced, Int, hinc illae lachrymae!, surgit amari aliquid, the place being too hot to hold one, the iron entering into the soul, he jests at scars that never felt a wound, I must be cruel only to be kind, what deep wounds ever closed without a scar?.

Friction

N friction, attrition, rubbing, abrasion, scraping, confrication, detrition, contrition, affriction, abrasion, arrosion, limature, frication, rub, elbow grease, rosin, massage, roughness, rolling friction, sliding friction, starting friction, anatriptic, attrite.

VB rub, scratch, scrape, scrub, slide, fray, rasp, graze, curry, scour, polish, rub out, wear down, gnaw, file, grind, set one's teeth on edge, rosin.