Definition of Rub off

1. Verb. Wear away.

Exact synonyms: Abrade, Abrase, Corrade, Rub Down
Specialized synonyms: Chafe, Excoriate, Rasp
Generic synonyms: Wear Away, Wear Off
Derivative terms: Abradant, Abradant, Abrader, Abrasion, Abrasion, Abrasion, Abrasive, Corrasion, Rubdown

Definition of Rub off

1. Verb. To cause to come off by rubbing ¹

2. Verb. To clean by rubbing. ¹

3. Verb. (idiomatic) to be transferred with little or no effort ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Lexicographical Neighbors of Rub Off

rozzers
rpm
rrna operon
rsum
ruana
ruanas
ruarsite
rub
rub-a-dub
rub along
rub down
rub elbows with
rub in
rub it in
rub of the green
rub off (current term)
rub off on
rub out
rub salt in someone's wounds
rub salt in the wound
rub somebody the wrong way
rub up
rub up on
rubaboo
rubaboos
rubace
rubaces
rubadub
rubai

Literary usage of Rub off

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. A Practical Dictionary of the English and German Languages by Felix Flügel, Johann Gottfried Flügel (1861)
"1. to grind off, to rub off, to wear away (sts.fig.); to bloat (a point); 2. to grind sufficient!) ; 3. to smooth, to polish; 4. to whet, to sharpen: ('¡Л — ..."

2. The Scientific American Cyclopedia of Formulas: Partly Based Upon the 28th by Albert Allis Hopkins (1910)
"Allow the wire to remain in contact with this mixture, heated to 180° F., for half an hour; then rub off excess with a soft cotton cloth. 12.—Stoves. ..."

3. Synonyms Discriminated: A Complete Catalogue of Synonymous Words in the by Charles John Smith (1871)
"... detritus, to rub off) is used very generically, and would include loss of value by internal causes. It is also applied to what is of the nature of a ..."

4. The Horticulturist, and Journal of Rural Art and Rural Taste by Luther Tucker (1853)
"I plant the vines about the first of April, taking care to spread out the roots, that they may have a free start and not get entangled ; rub off all the ..."

5. English Literature and Society in the Eighteenth Century by Leslie Stephen (1904)
"by the growth of commerce and manufactures ; the country gentlemen whose rents had risen, and who could come to London and rub off their old rusticity. ..."

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