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scrubbing

scrubbing

17 1.0
Cleaning a surface by rubbing it with a brush, soap, and water to remove dirt
  • noun
  • /ˈskrʌbɪŋ/
translation icon : fregado
  • Then came the scrubbing, out in the back yard.
  • scrubbing pads
  • kitchen scrubbing
  • sponges for scrubbing

Another downfall is overzealous use of it over scrubbing at the skin.

Examples

  • You gentlemen can watch while I'm scrubbing the floors, and I'm scrubbing the floors while you're gawking.

  • Sorry, we were scrubbing the patio and now it's set up.

  • After they took Mike away, she got a second job at night scrubbing floors in a downtown office building.

    Fiction book (2001)
  • I was on the floor, on my knees, scrubbing toilets and scrubbing floors.

  • Now the more the rug dried after its scrubbing, the more its young beauty was restored.

    Fiction book (1998)
  • The rest carried out various tasks, not least cleaning the ship, scrubbing decks, polishing brass and painting woodwork.

  • After a long day, she spent two hours on the scrubbing of the kitchen floor to make it shine.

  • The scrubbing of the old wooden table revealed its natural beauty underneath layers of grime.

  • His task involved the scrubbing of dirty dishes before they could be put away in the cupboard.

Synonyms

cleaning
vsscrubbing
335 1.0

The act of removing dirt and dust from a place or object

refers to the specific act of rubbing a surface to remove dirt
wash
vsscrubbing
89 1.0

An act of cleaning something with water, often using soap

centres on rubbing the surface rather than general water use
washing
vsscrubbing
46 1.0

The act of cleaning something with water and soap

focuses on rubbing the surface usually with a brush
scrub
vsscrubbing
27 1.1

A hard rubbing of a surface to clean it

is gentler rubbing usually with less force
cleansing
vsscrubbing
4 3.9

Making something clean by removing dirt

is the physical action of rubbing a surface to remove dirt
scouring
vsscrubbing
1 4.1

Cleaning a surface by rubbing it hard with a brush and soap

is regular rubbing that is effective but less extreme

Antonyms

1 1.0

Not being clean because it has mud, dust or stains

Compounds

A brush with short stiff bristles for cleaning hard dirt on surfaces

How Vigorous

scouring
1 4.1
scrubbing
17 1.0
washing
46 1.0
rinsing
3 1.0
wipe
18 1.0

Surface Forms

scrubbing singular
scrubbings plural

Morphology

scrubbing = scrub (transparent) = scrub + ing

The noun is a standard gerund/nominalization formed from the verb 'scrub' with '-ing', so the meaning is directly understood from the base verb.

Etymology

The word scrubbing comes from the verb scrub, which originally meant 'to rub hard', much like the simple word rub. So a scrubbing is simply the action of cleaning by rubbing a surface with a brush, soap, and water.