Word.ws English Dictionary

rubbing in

rubbing in is the present participle and gerund of rub in.

Meaning of rub in

Verb

rub in (third-person singular simple present rubs in, present participle rubbing in, simple past and past participle rubbed in)

  1. (transitive) To apply by rubbing.
    • Flattening chicken breast halves serves two purposes: It provides more surface area to rub in the Greek-influenced seasoning, and it ensures that the chicken cooks quickly.2006 July 19, “On The Fridge”, in Washington Post
  2. (transitive) Of butter, to mix in by rubbing.
  3. (idiomatic, transitive) To make a point in an irritatingly emphatic manner.
    • Postcards from Florida might mean someone is rubbing in the fact he or she has been lounging on the white, sandy beaches2003 March 9, Glenn Davis, “U.S. vs. Mexico a day of celebration, opportunity”, in Houston Chronicle

Questions about rubbing in

What is rubbing in the present participle and gerund of?
Rubbing in is the present participle and gerund of rub in.

Words near rubbing in in the dictionary

  1. rubbing alcohols
  2. rubbing along
  3. rubbing away
  4. rubbing down
  5. rubbing elbows
  6. rubbing in
  7. rubbing it in
  8. rubbing machine
  9. rubbing machines
  10. rubbing off
  11. rubbing off on

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: rubbing in (page history and authors); rub in (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.

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Cite this entry: “rubbing in.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/rubbing_in. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.