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# rub

«rub» in Mova's school dictionary: **to move your hand or something else backwards and…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

verb (rub, rubs, rubbed, rubbing); noun (a rub)

### meaning for a pupil

1) To rub is to move your hand or something else backwards and forwards over a surface, pressing on it. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/rub/#m1)

2) To rub something in or on is to spread it by rubbing: rub in sun cream. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/rub/#m2)

3) To rub out (UK) is to remove pencil marks with a rubber. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/rub/#m3)

4) A rub is the act of rubbing. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/rub/#m4)

### sense in the lessons

In science, rubbing two things together makes friction and heat: rub your hands to warm them; rubbing a balloon on hair makes static electricity. In health, do not rub your eyes with dirty hands. Phrases: «rub it in» (keep reminding someone of a mistake), «rub someone up the wrong way» (annoy them), «rub shoulders with» (meet important people).

### examples

- Rub your hands together to keep warm. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/rub/#x1)
- Don't rub your eyes — wash them with water. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/rub/#x2)
- Rub sun cream into your skin. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/rub/#x3)
- Rub out the wrong answer and try again. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/rub/#x4)
- The cat rubbed against my legs. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/rub/#x5)
- Rubbing a balloon makes it stick to the wall. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/rub/#x6)
- My new shoes rub my heels. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/rub/#x7)
- OK, I lost — don't rub it in! [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/rub/#x8)
- She rubbed another match on the wall. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/rub/#x9)

### note

Double the b: rubbed, rubbing. In the UK a «rubber» is an eraser; in the US «rubber» can mean something else, so Americans say «eraser».

### In the corpora

- [Rubbing makes skin grow thicker into calluses, which protect it; barefoot runners grow thick soles that protect like shoes.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/354-skin-fingerprints-scabs-scars-bruises-and-blisters/16/)
- [Dyes can also leave: they wash out, rub off and fade in sunlight.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/chemistry/27-dyes-inks-colouring/6/)
- [A cat that rubs against your legs is leaving its scent on you, a friendly way of saying you belong to it.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/61-cats-and-dogs-up-close/10/)
- [You let a strange cat sniff a finger held low and stroke it only if it rubs against you.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/61-cats-and-dogs-up-close/11/)
- [Good hand washing rubs the palms, the backs, between the fingers, the thumbs, the fingertips and the wrists.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/75-the-dentist-and-washing-hands/11/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «rub» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/rub/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.