¦ verb (rubs, rubbing, rubbed)
1. apply firm pressure to the surface of, using a repeated back and forth motion.
move to and fro against a surface.
apply with a rubbing action: she rubbed some cream on her nose.
(rub something in/into/through) blend or mix ingredients together using a rubbing action: rub in the fat.
(rub something down) dry, smooth, or clean something by rubbing.
(rub something out) chiefly Brit. erase pencil marks with a rubber.
2. (rub off) be transferred by contact or association.
3. (rub along) Brit. informal cope or get along without undue difficulty.
4. reproduce the design of (a sepulchral brass or a stone) by rubbing paper laid on it with pencil or chalk.
5. Bowls (of a bowl) be slowed or diverted by the unevenness of the ground.
¦ noun
1. an act of rubbing.
2. an ointment designed to be rubbed on the skin.
3. (usu. the rub) the central or most important difficulty. [from Shakespeare's Hamlet (III. i. 65).]
4. Bowls an inequality of the ground impeding or diverting a bowl.
the diversion or hindering of a bowl by this.
Phrases
the rub of the green
1. Golf an accidental or unpredictable influence on the course or position of the ball.
2. good fortune.
rub one's hands rub one's hands together to show keen satisfaction.
rub it in (or rub someone's nose in something) informal emphatically draw someone's attention to an embarrassing fact.
rub noses rub one's nose against someone else's in greeting (especially as traditional among Maoris and some other peoples).
rub shoulders (or N. Amer. elbows) associate or come into contact.
rub someone (or Brit. rub someone up) the wrong way anger or irritate someone.
Origin
ME: perh. from Low Ger. rubben, of unknown ultimate origin.