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scrub

 - 10 dictionary results

scrub

1[skruhb] verb, scrubbed, scrub⋅bing, noun
–verb (used with object)
1. to rub hard with a brush, cloth, etc., or against a rough surface in washing.
2. to subject to friction; rub.
3. to remove (dirt, grime, etc.) from something by hard rubbing while washing.
4. Chemistry. to remove (impurities or undesirable components) from a gas by chemical means, as sulfur dioxide from smokestack gas or carbon dioxide from exhaled air in life-support packs.
5. to cancel or postpone (a space flight or part of a mission): Ground control scrubbed the spacewalk.
6. Slang. to do away with; cancel: Scrub your vacation plans—there's work to do!
–verb (used without object)
7. to cleanse something by hard rubbing.
8. to cleanse one's hands and arms as a preparation to performing or assisting in surgery (often fol. by up).
–noun
9. an act or instance of scrubbing.
10. a canceled or postponed space flight, launching, scheduled part of a space mission, etc.
11. something, as a cosmetic preparation, used for scrubbing.

Origin:
1300–50; ME scrobben (n.) < MD schrobben


scrub⋅ba⋅ble, adjective

scrub

2[skruhb]
–noun
1. low trees or shrubs collectively.
2. a large area covered with low trees and shrubs, as the Australian bush.
3. a domestic animal of mixed or inferior breeding; mongrel.
4. a small or insignificant person.
5. anything undersized or inferior.
6. Sports. a player not belonging to the varsity or regular team; a player who is not first-string.
–adjective
7. small, undersized, or stunted.
8. inferior or insignificant.
9. abounding in or covered with low trees and shrubs: They rode through scrub country.

Origin:
1350–1400; ME < Scand; cf. dial. Dan skrub brushwood; see shrub 1
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To scrub
scrub 1   (skrŭb)   
v.   scrubbed, scrub·bing, scrubs

v.   tr.
    1. To rub hard in order to clean.

    2. To remove (dirt or stains) by hard rubbing.

  1. To remove impurities from (a gas) chemically.

  2. Slang To cancel or abandon; drop: We had to scrub our plans for vacation.

v.   intr.
To clean or wash something by hard rubbing: Don't forget to scrub behind your ears.
n.  
  1. The act or an instance of scrubbing.

  2. pl. scrubs The articles of clothing that make up a scrub suit.

Phrasal Verb(s):
scrub upTo wash the hands and arms thoroughly, as before performing or participating in surgery.

[Middle English scrobben, to currycomb a horse, from Middle Dutch schrobben, to clean by rubbing, scrape; see sker-1 in Indo-European roots.]
scrub'ba·ble adj.
scrub 2   (skrŭb)   
n.  
  1. A straggly, stunted tree or shrub.

  2. A growth or tract of stunted vegetation.

  3. An undersized or poorly developed domestic animal.

  4. An undersized or insignificant person.

  5. Sports A player not on the varsity or first team.

  6. Australian Remote rural land; the bush.


[Middle English, variant of schrubbe; see shrub1.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Slang Dictionary
scrub

  1. tv.
    to cancel something. : We had to scrub the whole plan because of the weather.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Word Origin & History

scrub  (v.)
"rub hard," c.1300, perhaps from M.Du. or M.L.G. schrubben "to scrub," or from an unrecorded O.E. cognate, or from a Scand. source (cf. Dan. skrubbe "to scrub"), probably ult. from some cognate of shrub, used as a cleaning tool (cf. the evolution of broom, brush). Meaning "to cancel" is attested from 1828 (popularized during World War II with ref. to flights), probably from notion of "to rub out, erase." The noun is recorded from 1621.

scrub  (n.)
"brush, shrubs," 1398, "low, stunted tree," variant of shrobbe (see shrub), perhaps infl. by a Scand. word (cf. Dan. dial. skrub "a stunted tree, brushwood"). Collective sense is attested from 1805. Transferred sense of "mean, insignificant fellow" is from 1589; U.S. sports meaning "athlete not on the varsity team" is recorded from 1892.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: 1scrub
Pronunciation: 'skr&b
Function: verb
Inflected Forms: scrubbed; scrub·bing
transitive senses
: to clean and disinfect (the hands and forearms) before participating in surgery scrub intransitive senses
: to prepare for surgery by scrubbing oneself

Main Entry: 2scrub
Function: noun
: an act or instance of scrubbing scrub>
Encyclopedia

scrub

diverse assortment of vegetation types sharing the common physical characteristic of dominance by shrubs. A shrub is defined as a woody plant not exceeding 5 metres (16.4 feet) in height if it has a single main stem, or 8 metres if it is multistemmed. The world's main areas of scrubland occur in regions that have a Mediterranean climate-i.e., warm temperate, with mild, wet winters and long, dry summers. These areas include southern Australia, the Mediterranean region, California, Chile, and South Africa. Other scrublands are found in the semiarid tropics and in the Arctic, but smaller areas also occur in many other places. Australia, primarily because of its dry, variable climates, probably has the greatest expanse and range of scrublands. Their distribution is shown in

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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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