rubs up

Verb

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

1. (transitive) To polish or scrub; to cover (something with a substance) by rubbing.
   • I rubbed up the brass buttons on my jacket to make them shine.
2. (transitive) To rub (a body part): to massage, give a massage to.
   • […] every Morning when you Comb your head, dip a sponge in this water and rub up your Hair, and it will keep it clean and preserve it,1674, Hannah Woolley, A Supplement to The Queen-like Closet, London: Richard Lownds, page 9
   1. (intransitive, transitive, with-on) To rub on someone or something.
      • The cat rubbed up on my legs.
3. (transitive) To create (something) by rubbing.
   • to rub up a lather
4. (ambitransitive, dated, informal) To revive one's knowledge of (something); to renew (a skill).
   • I muſt rub up my balancing, and chaſing, and boring.1775 January 17 (first performance), [Richard Brinsley Sheridan], The Rivals, a Comedy. […], London: […] John Wilkie, […], published 1775, →OCLC, Act III, scene [iv], page 54

   Synonyms:

   bone up, brush up, review, revise

5. (US, slang, transitive) To assault (someone).
   • There was a lot of yelling and gesticulating, and a few blows were passed. A couple of guards got rubbed up a little.1952, Chester Himes, chapter 11, in Cast the First Stone,, New York, N.Y.: Signet, page 107

   Synonyms:

   rough up

See all 8 meanings of rub up