Word.ws English Dictionary

How to use scrub in a sentence

40 example sentences · adjective, noun, verb

Scrub means mean; dirty; contemptible; scrubby. Example: “She has been scrubbing for an hour, but the stain won't come out.”

Examples of scrub by meaning

nounA thicket or jungle, often specified by the name of the prevailing plant.

  • It twisted and turned, and, the first thing I knew, made a sudden bend around a bunch of bayberry scrub and opened out into a big clear space like a lawn.1913, Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln, chapter I, in Mr. Pratt’s Patients, New York, N.Y.; London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC

verbTo rub hard; to wash with rubbing; usually, to rub with a wet brush, sponge or with something coarse or rough, for the...

  • to scrub a floor with a cleanser
  • to scrub your fingernails
  • to scrub the walls with a sponge

verbTo rub anything vigorously, especially with a wet brush; to scour.

  • She has been scrubbing for an hour, but the stain won't come out.

verbSynonym 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.

verbTo be diligent and penurious.

  • I've had to scrub hard for a living

verbTo eliminate or remove (something); to render (something) unretrievable.

  • I will scrub the inefficiencies out of the system.
  • We scrubbed the low performers from the team.
  • It's impossible to scrub data from the internet.

verbTo call off (a scheduled event); to cancel (something).

  • Engineers had to scrub the satellite launch due to bad weather.
  • The project has been scrubbed in the latest budget.

verbTo check data in invoices and other records in order to find, fix, document or otherwise handle anomalies, errors or...

  • Scrub the billing files.

More sentences with scrub

  • I had to scrub the kitchen today, because the char couldn't come.From the entry char
  • We had to scrub the seats for throw up when we left the dog in the car.From the entry throw up
  • Scrubbing the toilets in the bar at the end of a Saturday night is an odious task.From the entry odious
  • The tree Lepidothamnus laxifolius is a high alpine specialist found in high-altitude bog communities and in scrub.From the entry specialist
  • I hope this mud will wash off without too much scrubbing.From the entry wash off
  • After I scrub the floor, I'm going to bust the dust.From the entry bust the dust
  • The brand is viewed poorly, but we have a plan to scrub it down.From the entry scrub down
  • The word scrub begins with a cluster of three consonants.From the entry cluster
  • Scrubbing the floors was a distasteful duty to perform.From the entry distasteful
  • It's time to start scrubbing up for my next surgery.From the entry scrub up
  • Be sure to scrub up before your interview.From the entry scrub up
  • I'm going to teach you how to scrub the ground.From the entry scrub the ground
  • Q: How should we clean off this mud? A: Start by hosing it off and see what we get. If we have to, we'll scrub it.From the entry hose off
  • Adding nibs as a scrubbing agent to soap is easy and creates a luxurious experience.2024, Raven Hanna, One Cacao Tree, page 130. From the entry nibby
  • I use nibby soap to scrub stubborn soil from my hands.2024, Raven Hanna, One Cacao Tree, page 130. From the entry nibby
  • Taking delivery, scrubbing in for surgery, clerking a patient and drawing up an impeccable treatment plan.2023, Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀, A Spell of Good Things, Canongate Books, page 21. From the entry house officer
  • For every patient patched back together, another set of scrubs is torn off.2021 January 15, Susannah Goldsbrough, “First surgery, then sex: how Grey’s Anatomy became a TV juggernaut”, in Chris Evans, editor, The…. From the entry wall-slam
  • Before him, a stoic mother, hands raisined from the scrubbing of clothing and children.2016, Daniel Kraus, The Death and Life of Zebulon Finch, Volume Two: Empire Decayed, page 67. From the entry raisin
  • The mat scrubs their shoes a bit as they wipe them and applies the disinfectant.2014 April, “Section Two: Practicing Biosecurity”, in Biosecurity Guide for Poultry and Bird Owners: Biosecurity for Birds (Program Aid…. From the entry footbath
  • I could hear the sound of the janitor's lackadaisical scrubbing against the wooden floor.2010, Clare Vanderpool, Moon Over Manifest. From the entry lackadaisical
  • "Did ya catch Doc Ashcan with his scrubs down yet?" I shook my head.2010 December 15, William Hoffer, Marilyn Hoffer, “Chapter Eleven”, in Luke Rules, William Hoffer, →ISBN. From the entry what's crappenin'
  • Some 50 firefighters, 10 tankers and waterbombers battled the grass and scrub blaze, which began about 12.30pm.2009 February 28, Anthony Dowsley, Jane Metlikovec, “Relief for Victorians as weather fails to hit extremes”, in Herald Sun, archived from…. From the entry waterbomber
  • Members of the transplant team scrub in and go about their respective duties.2008 August 18, Lee G. Bolman with Terrence E. Deal, Reframing Organizations: Artistry, Choice and Leadership, 4th edition, San Francisco…. From the entry scrub in
  • When you scrubbed in for surgery you couldn't touch anything after you finished scrubbing.2007 September 11, Mary Lou Parks, "O Lord Have Mercy!": Finding Our Way As Student Nurses in the 1950s, Dog Ear Publishing, →ISBN, →OL…. From the entry scrub in
  • Every few days or so, the rest of your body will need some scrubbing, too.2007, Brian Beffort, “[Hiking Hygiene] Bathing in the Woods”, in Joy of Backpacking: Your Complete Guide to Attaining Pure Happiness in…. From the entry hand-wash
  • Steve mentioned that most of his scrub orders are toteless (traditional I guess you'd say).2004 February 11, “Mike in Idaho”, “Knight-Toolworks plane question”, in rec.woodworking (Usenet). From the entry toteless
  • They inhabit open country, from arid scrub to moister, high-altitude grasslands.2003, Mike Unwin, “Mammals”, in South African Wildlife: A Visitor’s Guide, Chalfont St. Peter, Buckinghamshire: Bradt Travel Guides…. From the entry aardwolf

Meaning of scrub

  1. adjective Mean; dirty; contemptible; scrubby.
  2. noun A thicket or jungle, often specified by the name of the prevailing plant.
  3. noun Vegetation judged to be of inferior quality or of little use to humans, though sometimes thick and impenetrable, growing in poor soil or in sand; also, brush.

Full definition of scrub

Questions about scrub in a sentence

How do you use scrub in a sentence?
Scrub is used as an adjective, noun and verb. For example: “She has been scrubbing for an hour, but the stain won't come out.”
What is a short sentence with scrub?
“Scrub the billing files.”
What does scrub mean?
Scrub means mean; dirty; contemptible; scrubby.

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: scrub (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this page: “How to use scrub in a sentence.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sentences/scrub. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.