rubbing
/ˈɹʌbɪŋ/
rubbing noun: an impression of an embossed or incised surface made by placing a piece of paper over it and rubbing with graphite, crayon or other coloring agent. Also the present participle and gerund of rub.
Noun
rubbing (plural rubbings)
- An impression of an embossed or incised surface made by placing a piece of paper over it and rubbing with graphite, crayon or other coloring agent.
- He was delighted to come across a little-worn crest of the old Great Eastern Railway, never dreaming that such a relic would still be in use, and was taking a pencil-rubbing to add to his collection.1951 April, R. S. McNaught, “Railway Enthusiasts”, in Railway Magazine, number 600, page 271
Also used as
rubbing is also the present participle and gerund of rub.
rubbing meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu
rubbing in Hindi
- रगड़ना
rubbing in Tamil
- தேய்த்தல், தேய்த்துக் கொள்ளுதல், தேய்ப்பது
rubbing in Marathi
- घासाघीस करणे
rubbing in Urdu
- رگڑنا, رگڑتے ہوئے
More languagesFewer languages
- rubbing in Bengali
- ঘষা, ঘষছে, ঘষতে থাকা
- rubbing in Telugu
- రుద్దడం, రుద్దటం
- rubbing in Malayalam
- റബ്ബിംഗ്
- rubbing in Kannada
- ಉಜ್ಜುವುದು
- rubbing in Punjabi
- ਰਗਡ਼ਨਾ
- rubbing in Odia
- ଘଷିବା
Examples of rubbing in a sentence
- I add zest to the meat by rubbing it with a spice mixture before grilling.
- Rubbing amber with wool will charge it quickly.
- The masseuse was rubbing my back too softly for my liking, so I asked her to go harder.
Forms of rubbing
| plural | rubbings |
|---|
Origin of rubbing
From Middle English rubbinge, rubbynge, equivalent to rub + -ing.
From rub + -ing.
Words formed from rubbing
Phrases with rubbing
- rubbing in
- rubbing up
- rubbing out
- rubbing away
- rubbing down
- rubbing oils
- rubbing along
- rubbing it in
- rubbing posts
- rubbing up on
- rubbing elbows
- rubbing off on
20 more phrasesFewer phrases
- rubbing stones
- rubbing strips
- rubbing one off
- rubbing one out
- rubbing alcohols
- rubbing machines
- rubbing shoulders
- rubbing up against
- rubbing one's hands
- rubbing oneself off
- rubbing up the wrong way
- rubbing salt in the wound
- rubbing someone's face in
- rubbing someone's nose in
- rubbing one's hands together
- rubbing the fear of God into
- rubbing someone the wrong way
- rubbing salt in someone's wounds
- rubbing someone up the wrong way
- rubbing one's face with a brass candlestick
Words that rhyme with rubbing
Questions about rubbing
- What does rubbing mean?
- Rubbing means an impression of an embossed or incised surface made by placing a piece of paper over it and rubbing with graphite, crayon or other coloring agent.
- What is rubbing in Hindi?
- Rubbing in Hindi is रगड़ना. See Rubbing meaning in Hindi.
- What part of speech is rubbing?
- Rubbing is a noun.
- How do you pronounce rubbing?
- Rubbing is pronounced /ˈɹʌbɪŋ/.
- What is the plural of rubbing?
- The plural of rubbing is rubbings.
Words near rubbing in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: rubbing (page history and authors); rubbing (Hindi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); rubbing (Tamil, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); rubbing (Marathi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); rubbing (Urdu, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); rubbing (Bengali, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); rubbing (Telugu, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); rubbing (Malayalam, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); rubbing (Kannada, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); rubbing (Punjabi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); rubbing (Odia, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license). 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-us-rubbing.ogg.
Cite this entry: “rubbing.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/rubbing. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.
