1. n.1 a tough elastic polymeric substance made from the latex of plants or synthetically.
2 esp. Brit. a piece of this or another substance for erasing pencil or ink marks.
3 colloq. a condom.
4 (in pl.) US galoshes.
5 a person who rubs; a masseur or masseuse.
6 a an implement used for rubbing. b part of a machine operating by rubbing.
Phrases and idioms:
rubber band a loop of rubber for holding papers etc. together. rubber plant
1. an evergreen plant, Ficus elastica, with dark-green shiny leaves, often cultivated as a house-plant.
2 (also rubber tree) any of various tropical trees yielding latex, esp. Hevea brasiliensis. rubber solution a liquid drying to a rubber-like material, used esp. as an adhesive in mending rubber articles. rubber stamp 1 a device for inking and imprinting on a surface.
2 a a person who mechanically copies or agrees to others' actions. b an indication of such agreement. rubber-stamp v.tr. approve automatically without proper consideration.
Derivatives:
rubbery adj. rubberiness n.
Etymology: RUB(1) + -ER(1), from its early use to rub out pencil marks 2. n.1 a match of three or five successive games between the same sides or persons at whist, bridge, cricket, lawn tennis, etc.
2 (prec. by the) a the act of winning two games in a rubber. b a third game when each side has won one.
Etymology: orig. unkn.: used as a term in bowls from c. 1600