scrub

verb

/skrʌb/

Verb Forms

present simple I / you / we / they scrub	/skrʌb/ /skrʌb/
he / she / it scrubs	/skrʌbz/ /skrʌbz/
past simple scrubbed	/skrʌbd/ /skrʌbd/
past participle scrubbed	/skrʌbd/ /skrʌbd/
-ing form scrubbing	/ˈskrʌbɪŋ/ /ˈskrʌbɪŋ/

Phrasal Verbs

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[transitive, intransitive] to clean something by rubbing it hard, especially with a brush and usually with soap and water
- scrub something/yourself I found him in the kitchen, scrubbing the floor.
- He stepped into the shower and scrubbed himself all over.
- scrub something/yourself down She scrubbed the counters down with bleach.
- scrub at something The woman scrubbed at her face with a tissue.
- scrub something/yourself + adj. Scrub the vegetables clean.
Extra Examples
- He scrubbed the mud from his shoes.
- The table had been scrubbed clean.
- his freshly scrubbed face
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
adverb
- furiously
- vigorously
- thoroughly
- …
preposition
- at
- from
- off
- …
phrases
- freshly scrubbed
- scrub something clean
See full entry
[transitive] scrub something (informal) to cancel something that you have arranged to do

Word Originverb late 16th cent.: probably from Middle Low German, Middle Dutch schrobben, schrubben.

scrub

noun

/skrʌb/

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[singular] an act of scrubbing something
- I've given the floor a good scrub.
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
adjective
- good
verb + scrub
- give somebody/something
scrub + noun
- brush
See full entry
[uncountable] small bushes and trees
- The vegetation consisted of low scrub.
- The bird disappeared into the scrub.
Extra Examples
- The horses stood near a patch of scrub.
- The mountain was covered in scrub.
Topics Plants and treesc2
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
adjective
- desert
- low
- dense
- …
… of scrub
- patch
verb + scrub
- be covered in
- be overgrown with
See full entry
(also scrubland)
[uncountable] an area of dry land covered with small bushes and trees
- miles of desert scrub
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
adjective
- desert
- low
- dense
- …
… of scrub
- patch
verb + scrub
- be covered in
- be overgrown with
See full entry
scrubs
[plural] (specialist) the special clothes worn by surgeons when they are doing medical operations
Wordfinder
- amputate
- anaesthetic
- graft
- operation
- procedure
- scalpel
- scrubs
- stitch
- surgery
- transplant
Topics Medicinec2

Word Originnoun sense 1 and noun sense 4 late 16th cent.: probably from Middle Low German, Middle Dutch schrobben, schrubben. noun senses 2 to 3 late Middle English (in the sense ‘stunted tree’): variant of shrub.