1
[ verb ] move over something with pressure

Examples

"rub my back" "rub oil into her skin"

Used in print

(Robert Penn Warren, Wilderness....)

Adam watched his own hands make the caressing , anxious movement that , when rain falls and nobody comes , and ruin draws_close like a cat rubbing against the ankles , has been the ritual of stall vendors , forever .

(Stephen Longstreet, Eagles Where I Walk....)

The wraith-like events of the last few days flooded David 's mind and he rubbed his unshaved chin and felt again the ache in his kidneys caused by his saddle odyssey from Boston .

(W. H. Gass, "The Pedersen Kid," in The...)

Hans is rubbing him with snow .

He was rubbing snow on the kid 's legs and feet .

Hans rubbed the kid with more snow & & & rubbed & & & rubbed .

2
[ verb ] cause friction

Synonyms

scratch fret chafe fray

Examples

"my sweater scratches"

Used in print

(Robert Deardorff, "Step by Step Through Istanbul"...)

For almost 3000 years Europe and Asia have rubbed shoulders in its streets .

Related terms

touch abrasion

3
[ noun ] an unforeseen obstacle

Synonyms

hitch snag hang-up

Related terms

obstacle

4
[ verb ] scrape or rub as if to relieve itching

Synonyms

itch scratch

Examples

"Don't scratch your insect bites!"

Related terms

irritate itch scratcher

5
[ noun ] the act of rubbing or wiping

Synonyms

wipe

Examples

"he gave the hood a quick rub"

Related terms

contact scuff rubdown wipe

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