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Another word for rub

a-z
Verb

  1. To remove or invalidate by or as if by running a line through or wiping clean.

      1. To cease to occupy (a lodging or place); leave:
      2. To cease to hold (a job or position):
      3. To make void or annul (an erroneous lower court decision):
      1. The 24th letter of the modern English alphabet.
      2. Any of the speech sounds represented by the letter x.
      3. The 24th in a series.
      1. To subject to light rubbing or friction, as with a cloth or paper, in order to clean or dry.
      2. To clean or dry by rubbing:
      3. To rub, move, or pass (a cloth, for example) over a surface.
      1. To reverse or erase; annul:
      2. To untie, disassemble, or loosen:
      3. To open (a parcel, for example); unwrap.
      1. To hit sharply, as with a hand, fist, weapon, or implement:
      2. To inflict (a blow).
      3. To penetrate or pierce:
      1. To make a thin shallow cut or mark on (a surface) with a sharp instrument.
      2. To use the nails or claws to dig or scrape at.
      3. To rub or scrape (the skin) to relieve itching.
      1. To remove or destroy completely so as to leave no trace.
      2. To render invisible or unreadable, as by erasing or marking over:
      3. To remove completely (a body organ or part), as by surgery, disease, or radiation.
      1. To erase, delete, or strike out:
      2. To eliminate completely; wipe out:
      1. To remove (something written, for example) by rubbing, wiping, or scraping.
      2. To remove (recorded material) from a magnetic tape or other storage medium:
      3. To remove recorded material from (a magnetic tape or disk, for example):
      1. To rub or wipe out; erase:
      2. To remove or make indistinct:
      3. To conduct (oneself) inconspicuously:
      1. To cancel, strike out, or make impossible to be perceived:
      2. To remove from a document or record:
      3. To remove (a file, for example) from a hard drive or other storage medium.
      1. An upright post with a transverse piece near the top, on which condemned persons were executed in ancient times.
      2. The cross upon which Jesus was crucified.
      3. A crucifix.
      1. To annul or invalidate:
      2. To decide or announce that (a planned or scheduled event) will not take place, especially with no intention of holding it at a later time:
      3. To cross out with lines or other markings.
      1. A spot or a stain caused by a discoloring substance:
      2. An association of disgrace with one's character or reputation.
      3. The Northern, Southern, or Western blot analyses.
    See also:

    continue

Noun

  1. A tricky or unsuspected condition

      1. To get and hold (something that has been in motion) in a hand, the hands, a container, or an implement:
      2. To take hold of, especially forcibly or suddenly; grasp:
      3. To stop (oneself) from doing an action:
      1. A dead or partly dead tree that is still standing.
      2. A tree or a part of a tree that is sunken in or protrudes above a body of water and is a danger to navigation.
      3. A snaggletooth.
    See also:

    limited

Idioms:

    rub out

  1. To destroy all traces of

    2. rub out

  2. To take the life of (a person or persons) unlawfully

© Roget’s II: The New Thesaurus Copyright © 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio. Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Another word for rub

Noun

  1. A rubbing action

      1. A rubbing away or wearing down by friction.
      2. A gradual reduction in number or strength because of stress or military action.
      3. A gradual reduction in personnel or membership because of resignation, retirement, or death, often viewed in contrast to reduction from layoffs.
      1. The rubbing of one object or surface against another.
      2. Conflict, as between persons having dissimilar ideas or interests; clash.
      3. A force that resists the relative motion or tendency to such motion of two bodies or substances in contact.
      1. raspy
      2. Present participle of rasp.
      3. A rasping sound
      1. Present participle of buff.
      2. That which is buffed.
      1. The act of cleaning a surface by rubbing it with a brush, soap and water.
      2. (of livestock) Diarrhea.
      3. Present participle of scour.
      1. the act of a person or thing that scrapes
      2. the sound of this
      3. something scraped off, together, or up
      1. A process used in pension fund accounting by which unusually high returns in a given year are spread over a multi-year period. The logic behind smoothing is that it lowers the volatility of the profit and loss credit from pension fund returns. During the bull market of the late 1990s, smoothing helped companies boost up their earnings by including gains from pension fund returns. A process used in pension fund accounting by which unusually high returns in a given year are spread over a multi-year period. The logic behind smoothing is that it lowers the volatility of the profit and loss credit from pension fund returns. During the bull market of the late 1990s, smoothing helped companies boost up their earnings by including gains from pension fund returns.
      1. The act or an instance of striking, as with the hand, a weapon, or a tool; a blow or impact.
      2. The striking of a bell or gong.
      3. The sound so produced.
      1. Present participle of brush.
      2. An instance of brushing.
      3. (dated) brisk; light
      1. An energetic massage of the body.
      1. The rubbing or kneading of parts of the body especially to aid circulation, relax the muscles, or provide sensual stimulation.
      2. An act or instance of such rubbing or kneading.
      3. To give a massage to.
    See also:

    touch

  2. A difficulty

    See also:

    impediment

    difficulty

    Antonyms:
Verb

  1. To subject to friction

      1. Free from dirt, stain, or impurities; unsoiled:
      2. Free from foreign matter or pollution; unadulterated:
      3. Not infected:
      1. To wear away or irritate by rubbing or friction:
      2. To annoy; vex:
      3. To warm by rubbing, as with the hands.
      1. A container, such as a cabinet or folder, for keeping papers in order.
      2. A collection of papers or published materials kept or arranged in convenient order.
      3. A collection of data or program records stored as a unit with a single name.
      1. To delete or erase or remove (something) by rubbing.
      2. (criminal slang) To kill.
      1. To remove (something written, for example) by rubbing, wiping, or scraping.
      2. To remove (recorded material) from a magnetic tape or other storage medium:
      3. To remove recorded material from (a magnetic tape or disk, for example):
      1. A small piece of absorbent material attached to the end of a stick or wire and used for cleansing a surface, applying medicine, or collecting a sample of a substance.
      2. A sample collected with a swab.
      3. A sponge or patch of absorbent material used to clean the bore of a firearm or cannon.
      1. To rub hard in order to clean:
      2. To remove (dirt or stains) by hard rubbing.
      3. To remove impurities from (a gas) chemically.
      1. To groom (a horse) with a currycomb.
      2. To prepare (tanned hides) for use, as by soaking or coloring.
      1. An implement typically consisting of bristles fastened into a handle, used in scrubbing, polishing, grooming, or applying a liquid.
      2. The act of using this implement.
      3. A sweeping stroke of the hand, as in removing something.
      1. A soft, thick, undyed leather made chiefly from the skins of buffalo, elk, or oxen.
      2. A military uniform coat made of such leather.
      3. A pale, light, or moderate yellowish pink to yellow, including moderate orange-yellow to light yellowish brown.
      1. To make smooth or glossy by rubbing; polish.
      2. To rub with a tool that serves especially to smooth or polish.
      3. To improve or make more impressive:
      1. To emit light.
      2. To reflect light; glint or glisten.
      3. To distinguish oneself in an activity or a field; excel.
      1. To make smooth and shiny by rubbing or chemical action.
      2. To remove the outer layers from (grains of rice) by rotation in drums.
      3. To refine or remove flaws from; perfect or complete:
      1. (idiomatic) to rub, e.g. for cleaning, stripping paint or massage
      1. The rubbing or kneading of parts of the body especially to aid circulation, relax the muscles, or provide sensual stimulation.
      2. An act or instance of such rubbing or kneading.
      3. To give a massage to.
      1. To be vexed or troubled; worry.
      2. To be worn or eaten away; become corroded.
      3. To move agitatedly.
      1. To mix and work into a uniform mass, as by folding, pressing, and stretching with the hands:
      2. To make or shape by or as if by folding, pressing, and stretching with the hands.
      3. To squeeze, press, or roll with the hands, as in massaging:
      1. A coarse file with sharp, pointed projections.
      2. The act of filing with a rasp.
      3. A harsh grating sound.
      1. To feed on growing grasses and herbage.
      2. To eat a variety of appetizers as a full meal.
      3. To eat snacks throughout the day in place of full meals.
      1. To crush, pulverize, or reduce to powder by friction, especially by rubbing between two hard surfaces:
      2. To shape, sharpen, or refine with friction:
      3. To rub (two surfaces) together harshly; gnash:
      1. To reduce to fragments, shreds, or powder by rubbing against an abrasive surface.
      2. To cause to make a harsh grinding or rasping sound through friction:
      3. To irritate or annoy persistently:
      1. To clean, polish, or wash by scrubbing vigorously:
      2. To remove by scrubbing:
      3. To remove dirt or grease from (cloth or fibers) by means of a detergent.
      1. To wear down, rub away, or scrape by friction:
      2. To become worn or scraped by abrasion:
      1. Having a surface free from irregularities, roughness, or projections; even.
      2. Free from waves or disturbances; calm:
      3. Free from hair, whiskers, or stubble:
      1. To remove (an outer layer, for example) from a surface by forceful strokes of an edged or rough instrument:
      2. To abrade or smooth by rubbing with a sharp or rough instrument.
      3. To rub (a surface) with considerable pressure, as with an edged instrument or a hard object.
      1. The act or an instance of striking, as with the hand, a weapon, or a tool; a blow or impact.
      2. The striking of a bell or gong.
      3. The sound so produced.

  2. To apply by rubbing

      1. To spread or smear in large amounts:
      2. To cover with something spread or smeared in large amounts:
      3. A great amount:
      1. To apply oil, ointment, or a similar substance to.
      2. To put oil on during a religious ceremony as a sign of sanctification or consecration.
      3. To choose by or as if by divine intervention.
      1. A mixture of lime or gypsum, sand, and water, sometimes with fiber added, that hardens to a smooth solid and is used for coating walls and ceilings.
      2. Plaster of Paris.
      3. A pastelike mixture applied to a part of the body for healing or cosmetic purposes.
      1. A sleeved outer garment extending from the shoulders to the waist or below.
      2. A natural outer covering, such as the fur of an animal or the enveloping layer of an organ.
      3. A layer of material covering something else; a coating:
      1. To place something upon or over, so as to protect or conceal:
      2. To overlay or spread with something:
      3. To put a cover or covering on:
      1. To open to a fuller extent or width; stretch:
      2. To make wider the gap between; move farther apart:
      3. To distribute over a surface in a layer:
      1. To spread or daub (a surface, for example) with a sticky, greasy, or dirty substance.
      2. To apply by spreading or daubing:
      3. To cause to be blurry or spread in unwanted places:
      1. A liquid mixture, usually of a solid pigment in a liquid vehicle, used as a decorative or protective coating.
      2. The thin dry film formed by such a mixture when applied to a surface.
      3. The solid pigment before it is mixed with a vehicle.
      1. To smear; soil.
      2. To ornament in a vulgar, showy fashion.
      1. To cover or smear with a soft adhesive substance such as plaster, grease, or mud.
      2. To apply paint to (a surface) with hasty or crude strokes.
      3. To apply with quick or crude strokes:
      1. An implement typically consisting of bristles fastened into a handle, used in scrubbing, polishing, grooming, or applying a liquid.
      2. The act of using this implement.
      3. A sweeping stroke of the hand, as in removing something.
© WEBSTER’S NEW WORLD® ROGET’S A-Z THESAURUS by Charlton Laird and the editors of Webster’s New World dictionaries. Copyright © 1999 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Sentence Examples

  • Not rub his face in it.

  • He squatted beside the cot, continuing to rub her back.

  • If you came out here to rub it in, you can go back in the house.

  • She paused to rub her face hard with the meaty parts of her hands.

  • They inched forward, one behind the other, hands at their sides lest they rub the slime of the rock walls that wept on either side.

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Words near rub in the Thesaurus