scrubbing

Verb

scrub (third-person singular simple present scrubs, present participle scrubbing, simple past and past participle scrubbed)

1. (transitive) To rub hard; to wash with rubbing; usually, to rub with a wet brush, sponge or with something coarse or rough, for the purpose of cleaning or brightening.
   • to scrub a floor with a cleanser

   Synonyms:

   clean, rub, scour, wash

   1. (intransitive, transitive) To rub anything vigorously, especially with a wet brush; to scour.
      • She has been scrubbing for an hour, but the stain won't come out.
   2. (intransitive, transitive) Synonym of scrub in (“To thoroughly wash one's hands and forearms in preparation for performing a surgery”).
      • The surgeon readied himself, dressing, scrubbing and checking his notes for the next patient.
   3. (figuratively, intransitive, transitive) To be diligent and penurious.
      • I've had to scrub hard for a living
2. (transitive) To eliminate or remove (something); to render (something) unretrievable.
   • I will scrub the inefficiencies out of the system.
   1. (transitive) To call off (a scheduled event); to cancel (something).
      • Engineers had to scrub the satellite launch due to bad weather.

See all 34 meanings of scrub