Word.ws English Dictionary

the rubber hits the road

the rubber hits the road is the alternative form of the rubber meets the road.

Meaning of the rubber meets the road

Phrase

the rubber meets the road

  1. (idiomatic) A place or circumstance at which the implementation of a plan or intent is to be achieved.
    • Now we're getting down to where the rubber meets the road.1957, Max Shulman, Rally 'Round the Flag, Boys!
  2. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see rubber, meet, road.
    • Even 500 feet probably wouldn't allow you to brake to a stop, because it's "where the rubber meets the road" that counts.1928, How to avoid automobile accidents, page 30

Questions about the rubber hits the road

What is the rubber hits the road the alternative form of?
The rubber hits the road is the alternative form of the rubber meets the road.

Words near the rubber hits the road in the dictionary

  1. The Risk
  2. the road to hell is paved with good intentions
  3. the Rock
  4. The Rocks
  5. the rough side of one's tongue
  6. the rubber hits the road
  7. the rubber meets the road
  8. The S*n
  9. the same
  10. the same mixture as before
  11. The Sandon

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: the rubber hits the road (page history and authors); the rubber meets the road (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: “the rubber hits the road.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/the_rubber_hits_the_road. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.