I. scrub 1 /skrʌb/ BrE AmE verb ( past tense and past participle scrubbed , present participle scrubbing )
[ Date: 1200-1300 ; Language: Low German ; Origin: or a Scandinavian language ]
1 . [intransitive and transitive] to rub something hard, especially with a stiff brush, in order to clean it:
She was on her hands and knees scrubbing the floor.
He scrubbed the dirt off his boots.
The table needs to be scrubbed clean.
scrub at
She scrubbed at her face with a tissue.
2 . [transitive] informal to decide not to do something that you had planned SYN cancel :
We scrubbed the idea in the end.
scrub something ↔ out phrasal verb
to clean the inside of a place thoroughly:
The rooms are all scrubbed out once a week.
scrub up phrasal verb
to wash your hands and arms before doing a medical operation
II. scrub 2 BrE AmE noun
[ Sense 1: Date: 1300-1400 ; Origin: shrub ]
[ Sense 2: Date: 1900-2000 ; Origin: ⇨ ↑ scrub 1 ]
1 . [uncountable] low bushes and trees that grow in very dry soil
2 . [singular] especially British English if you give something a scrub, you clean it by rubbing it hard:
I gave the floor a good scrub.