- (n.) The act of rubbing; friction.
- (n.) A stone, commonly flat, used to sharpen cutting tools; a whetstone; -- called also rubstone.
- (v.t.) To hinder; to cross; to thwart.
- (n.) Something grating to the feelings; sarcasm; joke; as, a hard rub.
- (v.t.) 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.
- (v.t.) To move over the surface of (a body) with pressure and friction; to graze; to chafe; as, the boat rubs the ground.
- (n.) Inequality of surface, as of the ground in the game of bowls; unevenness.
- (n.) Imperfection; failing; fault.
- (n.) 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.
- (v.i.) To fret; to chafe; as, to rub upon a sore.
- (v.t.) To spread a substance thinly over; to smear.
- (v.i.) To move along the surface of a body with pressure; to grate; as, a wheel rubs against the gatepost.
- (v.t.) To scour; to burnish; to polish; to brighten; to cleanse; -- often with up or over; as, to rub up silver.
- (n.) A chance.
- (v.i.) To move or pass with difficulty; as, to rub through woods, as huntsmen; to rub through the world.
- (v.t.) To cause (a body) to move with pressure and friction along a surface; as, to rub the hand over the body.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
| APA | Webster's. (2011). rub. Retrieved September 22, 2026, from http://smartdefine.org/rub/definitions/2056833 |
| Chicago | Webster's. 2011. "rub" http://smartdefine.org/rub/definitions/2056833 (accessed September 22, 2026). |
| Harvard | Webster's 2011, rub, Smart Define, viewed 22 September, 2026, <http://smartdefine.org/rub/definitions/2056833>. |
| MLA | Webster's. "rub" 28 May 2011. Web. 22 September 2026. <http://smartdefine.org/rub/definitions/2056833> |