rub

CEFRB1

/ɹʌb/

verb · noun

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    verb

    To move something firmly back and forth against a surface.

  2. 02

    noun

    An act of moving something against a surface.

Examples

  • Never rub your eyes with dirty hands.

  • Rub briskly with soap, and the stain will soon wash off.

At a glance

Sits at B1 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
2
Citations
5
Synonyms
5

Deep Dive

verb

Extra meanings

  1. A difficulty or problem.

  2. A quip or sarcastic remark.

noun

Extra meaning

  1. An act of rubbing.

More examples

In context

  • Rub salt in the wound.

  • Give that lamp a good rub and see if any genies come out.

  • I rubbed the cloth over the glass.

Synonyms

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

She had to blank her hands together quickly to warm them up.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

verb

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”)).