[skruhb-uhp] 
| the act of washing or bathing thoroughly, esp. the aseptic washing by doctors, nurses, etc., before a surgical operation. |
[skruhb] verb, scrubbed, scrub⋅bing, noun | 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! |
| 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). |
| 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. |
| scrub 1 (skrŭb) v. scrubbed, scrub·bing, scrubs v. tr.
To clean or wash something by hard rubbing: Don't forget to scrub behind your ears. n.
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
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scrub up
Thoroughly wash one's hands and forearms, as before performing surgery. For example, The residents had to scrub up in case they were called on to assist with the operation. [c. 1900]