rub down
rub down verb: to rub from top to bottom, e.g. for cleaning, stripping paint or massage.
Verb
rub down (third-person singular simple present rubs down, present participle rubbing down, simple past and past participle rubbed down)
- To rub from top to bottom, e.g. for cleaning, stripping paint or massage.
- We were taken to a light airy stable, and placed in boxes adjoining each other, where we were rubbed down and fed.[1877], Anna Sewell, “Earlshall”, in Black Beauty: […], London: Jarrold and Sons, […], →OCLC, part II, page 101
- To frisk (search by feeling the body and clothing).
- […] "jumped him", as it were, and immediately "rubbed him down" with the view of getting possession of his weapon.1931, Hargrave Lee Adam, C.I.D. Behind the Scenes at Scotland Yard, page 221
- To grind, wear down, or wear away by rubbing.
- Synonyms:
- rub away
Synonyms of rub down
Forms of rub down
| third-person singular present | rubs down |
|---|---|
| present participle | rubbing down |
| past participle | rubbed down |
| past | rubbed down |
Questions about rub down
- What does rub down mean?
- Rub down means to rub from top to bottom, e.g. for cleaning, stripping paint or massage.
- What part of speech is rub down?
- Rub down is a verb.
- What is the past tense of rub down?
- The past tense of rub down is rubbed down.
Words near rub down in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: rub down (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-au-rub down.ogg.
Cite this entry: “rub down.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/rub_down. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.