to scrub up
2
4.9
- phrasal verb
- /skrʌb ʌp/
- Specialized
:
lavarse las manos
- As part of the preparation, the doctor always makes sure to scrub up for at least five minutes.
- go scrub up
Examples
-
You scrub up nicely.
-
You'd better scrub up.
-
l must say, you do scrub up rather well, Geoffrey.
-
I've got to scrub up.
-
We scrub up well, don't we?
-
My brother and I learned to scrub up like surgeons before every meal.
Fiction book (2001) -
Before the operation, the surgeon took a moment to scrub up and ensure his hands were completely clean.
-
Nurses are required to scrub up thoroughly before entering the operating room to maintain hygiene standards.
Synonyms
941
1.0
To clean something with water, often using soap
117
1.0
To clean your hands with soap and water to remove germs
86
2.0
To wash and make yourself look neat
55
1.0
To clean something by rubbing it hard with a brush and water
11
1.0
To wash your hands and face to get clean
How Thorough
Surface Forms
Morphology
The verb 'scrub' (to rub clean) combined with the particle 'up' commonly conveys thoroughness, so a learner who knows both words can reasonably infer a general meaning of 'wash/scrub very thoroughly.' However, the conventionalized, medical-specific sense (washing hands and forearms specifically before surgery) adds procedural and body-part information that is not fully predictable from the constituents alone, so the expression is only partially transparent.
Etymology
Scrub up comes from what surgeons do in hospitals: they scrub their hands and forearms up to the elbows with soap and a brush to remove germs before an operation. So, it means 'to wash the hands and forearms very thoroughly, especially in preparation for surgery'.