rub one's hands together

verb

To anticipate something eagerly.

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Meanings

verbrub one's hands together (third-person singular simple present rubs one's hands together, present participle rubbing one's hands together, simple past and past participle rubbed one's hands together)

present singular third person rubs one's hands together · participle present rubbing one's hands together · participle past rubbed one's hands together · past rubbed one's hands together · alternative rub one's hands

  1. colloquialidiomaticTo anticipate something eagerly.

    2017 Interest rate rise: What you are saying BBC News, 2 November 2017. Accessed 3 August 2018. ""It's been over 10 years and it's about time we got a little bit more," Ms Tongue pointed out. "I'm rubbing my hands together, definitely.""

    1 more example

    2018 Riley Beveridge, No final decision on 2019 AFLW Fixture Brisbane Lions, 3 August 2018. Accessed 3 August 2018. ""But I thought when those two new teams came in … I was rubbing my hands together thinking 'we are going to get a legitimate competition here, we will play everyone once and head into a finals series, you beauty'."

Translations

Finnish hieroa käsiään yhteen
  • hieroa käsiään yhteenTranslations
French se frotter les mains
  • se frotter les mainsTranslations
Cite this entry
APA

rub one's hands together. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rub%20one's%20hands%20together

MLA

“rub one's hands together.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rub%20one's%20hands%20together. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “rub one's hands together,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rub%20one's%20hands%20together.

Source: rub one's hands together on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.