rub down

verb

To rub from top to bottom, e.g. for cleaning, stripping paint or massage.

Similar
rub awayabradecorradeabraserub offmassageknead
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Meanings

verbrub down (third-person singular simple present rubs down, present participle rubbing down, simple past and past participle rubbed down)

present singular third person rubs down · participle present rubbing down · participle past rubbed down · past rubbed down

  1. idiomatictransitiveTo rub from top to bottom, e.g. for cleaning, stripping paint or massage.

    We were taken to a light airy stable, and placed in boxes adjoining each other, where we were rubbed down and fed.

    [1877], Anna Sewell, “Earlshall”, in Black Beauty: […], London: Jarrold and Sons, […], →OCLC, part II, page 101
  2. datedtransitiveTo frisk (search by feeling the body and clothing).

    […] "jumped him", as it were, and immediately "rubbed him down" with the view of getting possession of his weapon.

    1931, Hargrave Lee Adam, C.I.D. Behind the Scenes at Scotland Yard, page 221
  3. transitiveTo grind, wear down, or wear away by rubbing.

    Synonyms: rub away

Synonyms & antonyms

verbTo grind, wear down, or wear away by rubbing.

Similar
rub away

More synonyms by meaning

verbwear away

Similar
abradecorradeabraserub off
Broader
wear awaywear off

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

Similar
massageknead
Broader
manipulate
Also see
abradeabrasecorradekneadmassagerub off

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Cite this entry
APA

rub down. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rub%20down

MLA

“rub down.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rub%20down. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “rub down,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rub%20down.

Source: rub down on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.