rub

Meanings

Noun

• An act of rubbing.
• A difficulty or problem.
• A quip or sarcastic remark.
• In the game of crown green bowls, any obstacle by which a bowl is diverted from its normal course.
• Any substance designed to be applied by rubbing.
• A loan.

Verb

• To move (one object) while maintaining contact with another object over some area, with pressure and friction.
• To rub something against (a second thing).
• To be rubbed against something.
• To spread a substance thinly over; to smear.
• To move or pass with difficulty.
• To scour; to burnish; to polish; to brighten; to cleanse; often with up or over.
• To hinder; to cross; to thwart.
• To touch the jack with the bowl.

Related

Similar words

• hitch, hiccup, catch, kink, glitch, snag

Origin

• From Middle English rubben, possibly from Low German rubben, rubbeling or Saterland Frisian rubben. Or, of North Germanic origin, such as Swedish rubba ("to move, scrub"), all from Proto-Germanic *reufaną ("to tear").
• Cognate with Saterland Frisian rubje, German Low German rubben, Low German rubblig, Dutch robben, rubben, Danish rubbe, Icelandic and Norwegian rubba.