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rubbing

rubbing

1 1.5
The action of moving one thing over another with pressure to make heat, clean, or ease pain
  • noun
  • /ˈrʌbɪŋ/
translation icon : fricción
  • I just never liked the like harsh rubbing of eye makeup.

Lots of kind of hand contact and rubbing is not good.

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Examples

  • Your Brillo Pad of beard hair was rubbing my forehead.

  • You can hear how I am full on rubbing my arm.

  • Lots of kind of hand contact and rubbing is not good.

  • Let's go back to just rubbing it around our face.

  • I make sure I'm rubbing right over my shoulder.

  • It feels like I'm literally rubbing dry chalk on my eyeball.

  • She is applying pressure while rubbing the lotion into her skin to relieve dryness.

  • After a long run, he finds rubbing his sore muscles helps them relax.

  • The mechanic suggested rubbing the rusted areas with a cloth to clean them.

Synonyms

massage
vsrubbing
271 2.4

The rubbing of muscles to relax the body and ease pain

is broader, covering any pressured movement not only therapeutic body work
scrub
vsrubbing
27 1.1

A hard rubbing of a surface to clean it

is more general and can also mean creating heat or easing soreness
brush
vsrubbing
22 1.0

Cleaning or arranging something with a brush

focuses more generally on moving objects with pressure for various ends
scrubbing
vsrubbing
17 1.0

Cleaning a surface by rubbing it with a brush, soap, and water to remove dirt

is broader, including heat generation or easing soreness as well
rubdown
vsrubbing
6 6.5

A short strong massage that helps muscles relax

is the general pressured movement used for cleaning, heat, or soreness relief
stroking
vsrubbing
4 1.6

A gentle movement of the hand over something to comfort or calm it

is stronger and can include pressure to clean, heat, or relieve soreness
frication
vsrubbing
  • Specialized
9.6

Rubbing two surfaces together so they make heat and wear away

is the general act of pressing objects together to clean, heat, or ease

Compounds

6 3.4

A liquid used on skin or surfaces to kill germs and clean

How Vigorous

scouring
1 4.1
scrubbing
17 1.0
rubbing
1 1.5
to pat
110 1.0

Surface Forms

rubbing singular
rubbings plural

Morphology

rubbing = rub (transparent) = rub + ing

Standard gerund/nominalization naming the action of rubbing; meaning is directly derived from 'rub' + '-ing'.

Etymology

The word rubbing comes from the verb rub, meaning 'to press and move one thing over another'. That's why a rubbing can mean the action of moving something to clean it, warm it, or ease a sore place.