RUB DOWN

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does rub down mean? 

• RUB DOWN (verb)
  The verb RUB DOWN has 2 senses:

1. wear away

2. manually manipulate (someone's body), usually for medicinal or relaxation purposes

  Familiarity information: RUB DOWN used as a verb is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• RUB DOWN (verb)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Wear away

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Synonyms:

abrade; abrase; corrade; rub down; rub off

Hypernyms (to "rub down" is one way to...):

wear away; wear off (diminish, as by friction)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "rub down"):

chafe; excoriate (tear or wear off the skin or make sore by abrading)

rasp (scrape with a rasp)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s something

Derivation:

rubdown (the act of rubbing down, usually for relaxation or medicinal purposes)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Manually manipulate (someone's body), usually for medicinal or relaxation purposes

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Synonyms:

knead; massage; rub down

Context example:

She rubbed down her child with a sponge

Hypernyms (to "rub down" is one way to...):

manipulate (hold something in one's hands and move it)

"Rub down" entails doing...:

rub (move over something with pressure)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody

Derivation:

rubdown (the act of rubbing down, usually for relaxation or medicinal purposes)