/ skrʌb; NAmE / verb , noun
■ verb ( -bb- )
1.
scrub sth (down) | scrub (at sth) to clean sth by rubbing it hard, perhaps with a brush and usually with soap and water :
[ vn ]
I found him in the kitchen, scrubbing the floor.
She scrubbed the counters down with bleach.
[ v ]
The woman scrubbed at her face with a tissue.
[ vn - adj ]
Scrub the vegetables clean.
2.
[ vn ] ( informal ) to cancel sth that you have arranged to do
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PHRASAL VERBS
- scrub sth off | scrub sth off sth
- scrub sth out
- scrub up
■ noun
1.
[ sing. ] an act of scrubbing sth :
I've given the floor a good scrub.
2.
[ U ] small bushes and trees :
The bird disappeared into the scrub.
3.
(also scrub·land ) [ U ] an area of dry land covered with small bushes and trees
4.
scrubs [ pl. ] ( technical ) the special clothes worn by surgeons when they are doing medical operations
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WORD ORIGIN
verb and noun sense 1 noun sense 4 late 16th cent.: probably from Middle Low German , Middle Dutch schrobben , schrubben .
noun senses 2 to 3 late Middle English (in the sense stunted tree ): variant of shrub .