In 1511, leaders in Mecca believed coffee stimulated radical thinking and outlawed the drink. In 1524, the leaders overturned that order, and people could drink coffee again.
RUBBED
RUB
rub
(verb) move over something with pressure; “rub my hands”; “rub oil into her skin”
rub, fray, fret, chafe, scratch
(verb) cause friction; “my sweater scratches”
rub, scratch, itch
(verb) scrape or rub as if to relieve itching; “Don’t scratch your insect bites!”
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Verb
rubbed
simple past tense and past participle of rub
Adjective
rubbed (not comparable)
(cooking) Having had a substance applied through rubbing.
Usage notes
As an adjective, "rubbed" is usually used in compounds like dry-rubbed or spice-rubbed.
Anagrams
• dubber
Source: Wiktionary
RUB
Rub, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Rubbed; p. pr. & vb. n. Rubbing.] Etym: [Probably of Celtic origin; cf. W. rhwbiaw, gael. rub.]
1. To subject (a body) to the action of something moving over its surface with pressure and friction, especially to the action of something moving back and forth; as, to rub the flesh with the hand; to rub wood with sandpaper. It shall be expedient, after that body is cleaned, to rub the body with a coarse linen cloth. Sir T. Elyot.
2. To move over the surface of (a body) with pressure and friction; to graze; to chafe; as, the boat rubs the ground.
3. To cause (a body) to move with pressure and friction along a surface; as, to rub the hand over the body. Two bones rubbed hard against one another. Arbuthnot.
4. To spread a substance thinly over; to smear. The smoothed plank, . . . New rubbed with balm. Milton.
5. To scour; to burnish; to polish; to brighten; to cleanse; -- often with up or over; as, to rub up silver. The whole business of our redemption is to rub over the defaced copy of the creation. South.
6. To hinder; to cross; to thwart. [R.] 'T is the duke's pleasure, Whose disposition, all the world well knows, Will not be rubbed nor stopped. Shak. To rub down. (a) To clean by rubbing; to comb or curry; as, to down a horse. (b) To reduce or remove by rubbing; as, to rub down the rough points.
– To rub off, to clean anything by rubbing; to separate by friction; as, to rub off rust.
– To rub out, to remove or separate by friction; to erase; to obliterate; as, to rub out a mark or letter; to rub out a stain.
– To rub up. (a) To burnish; to polish; to clean. (b) To excite; to awaken; to rouse to action; as, to rub up the memory.
Rub, v. i.
1. To move along the surface of a body with pressure; to grate; as, a wheel rubs against the gatepost.
2. To fret; to chafe; as, to rub upon a sore.
3. To move or pass with difficulty; as, to rub through woods, as huntsmen; to rub through the world. To rub along or on, to go on with difficulty; as, they manage, with strict economy, to rub along. [Colloq.]
Rub, n. Etym: [Cf. W. rhwb. See Rub, v,t,]
1. The act of rubbing; friction.
2. That which rubs; that which tends to hinder or obstruct motion or progress; hindrance; obstruction, an impediment; especially, a difficulty or obstruction hard to overcome; a pinch. Every rub is smoothed on our way. Shak. To sleep, perchance to dream; ay, there's the rub. Shak. Upon this rub, the English ambassadors thought fit to demur. Hayward. One knows not, certainly, what other rubs might have been ordained for us by a wise Providence. W. Besant.
3. Inequality of surface, as of the ground in the game of bowls; unevenness. Shak.
4. Something grating to the feelings; sarcasm; joke; as, a hard rub.
5. Imperfection; failing; fault. [Obs.] Beau. & Fl.
6. A chance. [Obs.] Flight shall leave no Greek a rub. Chapman.
7. A stone, commonly flat, used to sharpen cutting tools; a whetstone; -- called also rubstone. Rub iron, an iron guard on a wagon body, against which a wheel rubs when cramped too much.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
Recent Word Finds
Word of the Day
31 March 2025
IMPROVISED
(adjective) done or made using whatever is available; “crossed the river on improvised bridges”; “the survivors used jury-rigged fishing gear”; “the rock served as a makeshift hammer”
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