Rub Meaning
/ɹʌb/Definition, CEFR level B1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
nounAn act of rubbing.
nounA difficulty or problem.
Sentence Examples
Rub salt in the wound.
Never rub your eyes with dirty hands.
Rub briskly with soap, and the stain will soon wash off.
CEFR Practice Quiz
She had to ____ her hands together quickly to warm them up.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
She had to ____ the stain vigorously with a damp cloth before it finally came out.
Word Origin & History
Inherited from Middle English rubben, of unknown origin; possibly ultimately from Proto-Germanic *rubbōną, related to *reufaną (“to tear”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian rubje (“to rub, scrape”), German Low German rubben (“to rub”), Low German rubblig (“rough, uneven”), Dutch robben, rubben (“to rub smooth; scrape; scrub”), Danish rubbe (“to rub, scrub”), Icelandic and Norwegian rubba (“to scrape”). More at reave. Compare typologically Latin fricō < friō < Proto-Indo-European *bʰreyH- (whence also Russian брить (britʹ, “to shave”)).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"To die, to sleep— / To sleep—perchance to dream. Ay, there's the rub! / For in that sleep of death what dreams may come, / When we have shuffled off this mortal coil, / Must give us pause"
— c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene i]:
"[…] the propriety of the cabman's shelter, as it was called, hardly a stonesthrow away near Butt bridge where they might hit upon some drinkables in the shape of a milk and soda or a mineral. But how to get there was the rub."
— 1922 February, James Joyce, “[[Episode 16]]”, in Ulysses, Paris: Shakespeare and Company, […], →OCLC:
"'My dear Devereux, I say, you mustn't talk in that wild way. You—you talk like a ruined man!'
'And I so comfortable!'
'Why, to be sure, Dick, you have had some little rubs, and, maybe, your follies and your vexations; but, hang it, you are young; you can't get experience—at least, so I've found it—without paying for it. […]'"
— 1863, Sheridan Le Fanu, The House by the Churchyard:
"You ſhould rub your Teeth and whole Mouth and Gums, the Pallate and Tongue, with a clean courſe cloth, rubbing off the ſlime which groweth upon them in the night."
— 1680, T. K., The Kitchin-Phyſician; Or, a Guide for Good-Housewives in Maintaining Their Families in Health. […] , How to cleanſe the Teeth, and keep them ſound, page 44:
"[…] Walden rubbed his hands together and smiled contentedly."
— 1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter VII, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:
Explore More B1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
She had to ____ her hands together quickly to warm them up.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
She had to ____ the stain vigorously with a damp cloth before it finally came out.