to rub in
1
3.6
- phrasal verb
- /rʌb ɪn/
:
frotar
- Back in the cabin, I watched Olivia get ready to go sailing, pinning up her hair and rubbing in sunscreen.
- rub in some moisturizer
- rub in lotion
- rub in the cream
It was more important that that Bush and and the Republicans have their faces kind of, you know, rubbed in the dirt over Iraq, Afghanistan, whatever.
- It was more important that that Bush and and the Republicans have their faces kind of, you know, rubbed in the dirt over Iraq, Afghanistan, whatever.
- It's not fun to have your nose rubbed in your shit.
- So when the cleanse is all rubbed in, you just take a little face cloth, like a soft flannel, soak it in hot water and take everything off, which is what I'm going to do now.
- OK, so, so you've rubbed in this, this, this stuff on your face as part of the game.
Examples
-
After applying the lotion, make sure to rub in the product until it is fully absorbed by your skin.
-
He would look at her back, rub in more of the cream if necessary, and it would be as it had been before.
Fiction book (1994) -
It says to just rub in the excess product or tap it in.
-
I rub in lotion and let the air dry the excess moisture off me.
Fiction book (1996) -
He gently rubbed in the cream.
Fiction book (1994) -
She rubbed in the cream and pressed her hands together.
Fiction book (2000) -
So you wet your face and you put your skin cleanser on, and then you wet the brush and you turn it on and you rub in circular motions around your face.
-
He likes to rub in his opinions during discussions to remind everyone of his perspective.
-
Before leaving the house, you should rub in the sunscreen to protect your skin from the sun.
Synonyms
34
7.2
Make someone feel worse by reminding them of a mistake or failure
Antonyms
How Much
Surface Forms
Morphology
The literal sense (to massage a substance into the skin) is directly compositional from 'rub' + 'in' and would be clear to a B1 learner who knows both words. However the figurative sense ('to repeatedly emphasize or remind, often to annoy') is a metaphorical extension of the literal action and not fully predictable without prior exposure, so the item is best classed as semi-transparent.
Etymology
Rub in comes from the image of rubbing a cream or ointment into the skin until it soaks in, with rub showing the action and in showing movement into the skin. That's why rub in also means 'to keep reminding someone of something', like pressing the idea into their mind and often annoying them.