scrub
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Contents |
English [edit]
Pronunciation [edit]
Etymology 1 [edit]
This definition is lacking an etymology or has an incomplete etymology. You can help Wiktionary by giving it a proper etymology.
Adjective [edit]
scrub (comparative more scrub, superlative most scrub)
- Mean; dirty; contemptible; scrubby.
- (Can we date this quote?) Walpole
- How solitary, how scrub, does this town look!
- (Can we date this quote?), Jonathan Swift
- No little scrub joint shall come on my board.
- (Can we date this quote?) Chilli
- A scrub is a guy that thinks he's fine And is also known as a buster Always talkin' about what he wants And just sits on his broke a.
- (Can we date this quote?) Walpole
Noun [edit]
scrub (plural scrubs)
- One who labors hard and lives meanly; a mean fellow.
- We should go there in as proper a manner possible; nor altogether like the scrubs about us.
- One who is a freak or unable to complete easy tasks.
- You are such a scrub! Instead of washing the dishes you put the used food on your face!
- A thicket or jungle, often specified by the name of the prevailing plant; as, oak scrub, palmetto scrub, etc.
- (US, stock breeding) One of the common livestock of a region of no particular breed or not of pure breed, especially when inferior in size, etc. Often used to refer to male animals unsuited for breeding.
- Vegetation of inferior quality, though sometimes thick and impenetrable, growing in poor soil or in sand; also, brush.
- One not on the first team of players, a substitute.
Derived terms [edit]
- scrubbable
- scrub game a game, as of ball, by unpracticed players.
- scrub race a race between scrubs, or between untrained animals or contestants.
Translations [edit]
one who labors hard and lives meanly; a mean fellow
something small and mean
one of the common livestock of a region of no particular breed or not of pure breed
Derived terms [edit]
Etymology 2 [edit]
From Middle English scrobben (“groom a horse with a currycomb”); From Middle Dutch schrobben (“clean by scrubbing”)
Verb [edit]
scrub (third-person singular simple present scrubs, present participle scrubbing, simple past and past participle scrubbed)
- (transitive) To rub hard; to wash with rubbing; usually, to rub with a wet brush, or with something coarse or rough, for the purpose of cleaning or brightening; as, to scrub a floor, a doorplate.
- (intransitive) To rub anything hard, especially with a wet brush; to scour;
- (intransitive, figuratively) To be diligent and penurious; as, to scrub hard for a living.
- (transitive) To call off a scheduled event; to cancel.
- Engineers had to scrub the satellite launch due to bad weather.
- (databases, transitive) To eliminate or to correct data from a set of records to bring it inline with other similar datasets
- The street segment data from the National Post Office will need to be scrubbed before it can be integrated into our system.
- (audio) To move a recording tape back and forth with a scrubbing-like motion to produce a scratching sound, or to do so by a similar use of a control on an editing system.
- (audio, video) To maneuver the play position on a media editing system by using a scroll bar.
Translations [edit]
to rub hard
to call off a scheduled event; to cancel
Noun [edit]
scrub (plural scrubs)
- An instance of scrubbing.
- A cancellation.
- A worn-out brush.
- One who scrubs.
- (medicine, plural) Clothing worn while performing surgery.
Translations [edit]
cancellation — see cancellation
worn-out brush
