rub

1. 1.

   an unforeseen obstacle

   Synonymshang-uphitchsnag

   Broaderobstacle
2. 2.

   the act of rubbing or wiping

   “he gave the hood a quick rub”

   Synonymswipe

   Broadercontact

   Narrowerscuff

Other forms of rub

plural

rubs·

past tense or participle

rubbed

present participle

rubbing

Forms marked · are formed by the regular rule rather than recorded in the source data. English keeps a few hundred irregulars and the rest follow the pattern, so the rule is right far more often than not — but it is a rule, and the mark says so.

Questions about rub

What does rub mean?

rub means "move over something with pressure". That is the primary sense; the word has 5 in total, listed in full on this page.

How many syllables are in rub?

rub has 1 syllable: rub. In IPA it is /ˈɹʌb/.

What is another word for rub?

Close synonyms include fray, fret, chafe, scratch, scratch. Each sense on this page lists its own synonyms, because a word with several meanings rarely has one substitute that works for all of them.

Is rub a common word?

rub is banded "Common" — everyday vocabulary in speech and writing. The band comes from how often the word appears in a large corpus of everyday English, not from an editor's impression.