past and past participle
The action involved moving a hand, cloth, or another object back and forth over a surface.
She rubbed the cat's belly gently.
He rubbed his hands together in anticipation.
American English
How to pronounce rubbed
verbB1Common word
RUHBD
/ɹəbd̚/
One syllable.
Form of rub
The action involved moving a hand, cloth, or another object back and forth over a surface.
Practice out loudMeanings & examples
past and past participle
The action involved moving against something while pressing on it, often causing pain or damage.
The rough towel rubbed my skin.
These shoes rubbed against my heels.
past and past participle
The action involved spreading a substance over a surface or into it by pressing and moving a hand.
She rubbed lotion into her dry hands.
The cook rubbed salt onto the chicken.
past form in an idiom
Something made someone feel annoyed or uncomfortable because it seemed unpleasant or wrong.
The misspelling rubbed him the wrong way.
Her arrogant tone rubbed me the wrong way.
Useful expressions
to influence someone through regular contact
Her positive attitude rubbed off on me.
to keep reminding someone about a mistake or failure in a way that makes them feel worse
I know I lost, so don’t rub it in.
that is the problem or difficult part
We can leave today, but there’s the rub: the car is out of gas.
Related words & forms
The past and -ing forms double the final b: rubbed, rubbing.