Scrub

Definition: Scrub

Scrub

Adjective

1. Of inferior or mixed breed; "a cur dog"; "an underbred dog".

2. (of domestic animals) not selectively bred.

Noun

1. Dense vegetation consisting of stunted trees or bushes.

2. The act of cleaning a surface by rubbing it with a brush and soap and water.

Verb

1. Clean with hard rubbing; "She scrubbed his back".

2. Wash thoroughly; of surgeons before an operation.

Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
 

Date "scrub" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1509. (references)

Note: Scrub \Scrub\ (skr[u^]b), transitive verb. [imperfect & past participle. Scrubbed(skr[u^]bd); Scrubbing.]. (references)

Aerospace

Food & Agriculture

Slang in 1811

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Synonyms: Scrub

Cleanness

Clean, cleanse; mundify, rinse, wring, flush, full, wipe, mop, sponge, scour, swab, scrub, brush up.

Commonalty

Beggar, gaberlunzie, muckworm, mudlark, sans culotte, raff, tatterdemalion, caitiff, ragamuffin, Pariah, outcast of society, tramp, vagabond, bezonian, panhandler, sundowner, chiffonnier, Cinderella, cinderwench, scrub, jade; gossoon.

Friction

Verb: rub, scratch, scrape, scrub, slide, fray, rasp, graze, curry, scour, polish, rub out, wear down, gnaw; file, grind. (reduce to powder).

Uncleanness

Dowdy, drab, malkin, slattern, sloven, slammerkin, slammock, slummock, scrub, draggle-tail, mudlark, dust-man, sweep; beast.

Vegetable

Timber, forest; wood, woodlands; timberland; hurst, frith, holt, weald, park, chase, greenwood, brake, grove, copse, coppice, bocage, tope, clump of trees, thicket, spinet, spinney; underwood, brushwood; scrub; boscage, bosk, ceja, chaparal, motte.; arboretum .

Crosswords: Scrub

French (scrubland), Manx (scrub ).

That hardly seems just coming from a woman whose hair has never seen a greasy pot it couldn't scrub clean (Cheers; writing credit: Isaac Cronin; Wayne Wang)

I'm going to scrub you till you are raw. (The Young Poisoner's Handbook; writing credit: Jeff Rawle; Benjamin Ross)

All you've ever done in your life is cook, clean, dust, sweep, scrub, suckle, and nurture (Life with Louie; writing credit: Martin Miehe-Renard; Mette Andersen Ottesen)

In '83 I was that scrub TLC talking 'bout (Left & Right Featuring Method Man And Redman; performing artist: D'Angelo)

Instead of a scrub like you ("Bills, Bills, Bills"; performing artist: Destiny's Child)

His mother goes to scrub the floors for many (Living for the City; performing artist: Stevie Wonder)

If you don't scrub that kitchen floor ("Yakety Yak"; performing artist: The Coasters)

I'll get down on my knees and scrub (Mr. Sellack; performing artist: The Roches)

Scrub Me Mama (1943)

The Scrub Lady (1917)

Cupid and the Scrub Lady (1915)

Scrub Yacht Race (1897)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Books

• British Plant Communities: Volume 1, Woodlands and Scrub (reference)

• Dead in the Scrub (reference)

• Florida Scrub Country: And Other Poems (reference)

• Scrub Dog of Alaska (reference)

• Scrub Pythons (World's Largest Snakes) (reference)

  (more book examples)

Music

• Scrub (reference)

  (more classical music examples; more popular music examples)

Consumer Goods

• OXO Good Grips Scrub Brush Refill (reference)

• OXO Good Grips Soap-Dispensing Scrub Brush (reference)

  (more baby examples; more wireless phone examples; more garden examples; more kitchen examples; more tool examples)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

In a small corner of the vast Great Sandy Desert in Western Australia, large sand dunes -the only sand in this desert of scrub and rock- appear as lines stretching from left to right. The light-colored fan shapes are scars from wildfires. Credit: NASA.

A fox in the scrub grass of an Aleutian Island. Credit: Coast & Geodetic Survey Historical Image Collection.

A close-up view of the scrub under-brush common along Army Creek. Credit: NOAA Restoration Center.

A group of volunteers plant native shrub scrub species. The new plantings all had a maximum height of 3-4 feet. Credit: NOAA Restoration Center.

Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve. Key Island After -- Australia n pines were removed from the coastal strand adjacent to the beach. Approximate ly 8,000 native plants, comprising 15 different species, were reintroduced to the island's scrub and hammock habitats, and many other native plants have recolonized naturally. Credit: National Estuarine Research Reserve System (NERR).

Volunteer Grace Iverson with Florida Scrub Jay. Credit: Jerry Sintz.

Grace Iverson, BLM Volunteer with Florida Scrub Jay. Credit: Jerry Sintz.

Scrub Typhus Fever : Wear Clothing that has been Impregnated... Credit: National Library of Medicine.

If You Are In This Area : Look Out For Scrub Typhus Fever. Credit: National Library of Medicine.

Won't scrub off. Credit: Library of Congress.

Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits.

Health

Here, ticks have been collected in habitats with forest, north coastal scrub, high brush, and open grasslands. (references)

Your doctor may ask you to scrub your eyelashes for a period of time before surgery to get rid of residues and debris along the lashes. (references)

Wash all raw fruits and vegetables well. If it can't be well washed (as with raspberries), avoid it. Scrub rough surfaces, like the skin of melons, prior to cutting. (references)

Economic History

Ghana

Half of the country lies less than 152 meters (500 ft.) above sea level, and the highest point is 883 meters (2,900 ft.). The 537-kilometer (334-mi.) coastline is mostly a low, sandy shore backed by plains and scrub and intersected by several rivers and streams, most of which are navigable only by canoe. (references)

Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

Expressions using "scrub": machine for clearing scrub ♦ marshy scrub ♦ scrub away ♦ scrub beefwood ♦ scrub bird ♦ scrub breaker ♦ scrub brush ♦ scrub clearance ♦ scrub down ♦ scrub fowl ♦ scrub game ♦ scrub mark ♦ scrub marks ♦ scrub method ♦ scrub nurse ♦ scrub oak ♦ scrub off ♦ scrub one's hands ♦ scrub out ♦ scrub palmetto ♦ scrub pine ♦ scrub plane ♦ scrub race ♦ scrub robin ♦ scrub team ♦ Scrub Typhus ♦ scrub up ♦ seaside scrub oak ♦ to scrub. Additional references.

Beginning with "scrub": scrub-birds, scrub-covered, scrub-dotted, scrub-fowl, scrub-jays, scrub-land, scrub-oak, scrub-topped.

Ending with "scrub": dip-wet-dip-scrub.

Albanian

shkurre (boscage, Bush, Heath, moorland, shrub, Tod), pastroj (abrade, char, clarify, clean, cleanse, clear up, defecate, depurate, deterge, eliminate, grub, gut, lustrate, pick, purge, rarefy, rectify, refine, scavenge, scour, sweep, try), pastrim (abrasion, abstersion, clarification, clean, cleaning, cleanup, clearance, defecation, depuration, lustration, mopping, purge, purification, rectification, refinement, refining, scour, scouring, scrub up, sweep), kaçubë (Bush, shrub). (various references)

Arabic 

‏فريق من الدرجة الثانية, ‏فرك (chafe, rub, rubbing, scour, scrape, stone), ‏فرشة, ‏مسح (clean, extinguish, mop, mop up, mopping, polish, rub, scanning, sponge, survey, swab, sweep, wipe, wiping), ‏نظف بالفرشة, ‏نظف (char, clean, clean out, clear, clear away, do, mop, pan, purge, purify, rub, sanitize, scavenge, scour, swab, wash out), ‏غسل (bathe, irrigate, irrigation, launder, lave, lotion, rinse, swill, wash, washing), ‏تنظيف (cleaning, purgation), ‏عرك, ‏جلا (be evacuated, evacuate, pan, polish, puzzle out, rub, scour, shine, wash), ‏ألغى (abolish, abort, annul, avoid, call off, cancel, deactivate, dissolve, do away with, eliminate, lift, negate, nullify, obliterate, override, overrule, quash, repeal, rescind, reverse, revoke, rule out, scratch, set aside, spike, stop, undo, vacate), ‏أشجار منخفضة, ‏شخص حقير (beast, insignificancy, skunk, stinkard, whelp). (various references)

Bulgarian 

мелез (half blood, half breed, hybrid, lurcher, mongrel, yellow dog), изтърквам (abrade, clean, erase, fray, outwear, rub down, wear away), изтъркване (abrasion, attrition, detrition, fraying, scour, wear), играч от втори отбор, полупустинна област в австралия, почистване (cleaning, cleanup, dressing, police), пречиствам (baptize, defecate, filtrate, purify, rarefy, rectify, scavenge, spiritualize, sublimate, subtilize), дребен човек (morsel, pygmy, runt), завързак (runt), търкам (chafe, furbish, rub, scour), недорасло животно, недорасъл човек, незначителен човек (also-ran, jack-straw), отлагам (carry over, defer, delay, drive, hold over, lay over, leave over, lie over, postpone, precipitate, procrastinate, prorogue, put back, put off, put over, respite, shelve, shunt, sidetrack, stay, suspend), отменям (abate, abrogate, annul, avoid, cancel, countermand, disaffirm, extinguish, override, quash, raise, recall, remit, repeal, rescind, retract, reverse, revoke, supersede, undo, wash out, withdraw), втори отбор, шубрак (chaparral, shrub, underbrush, undergrowth), жуля (chafe, scour, sting, tingle). (various references)

Chinese 

洗刷 (brush, wash). (various references)

Czech

vymazat (blot out, clear, delete, erase, obliterate, puddle, rub off, rub out, wipe out), vydrhnout, vyèistit (brush, clean, clean out, do), podrost (brush, brushwood, coppice, copse, underbrush, undergrowth), křoví (bushes, shrub, shrubs), anulovat (annul, annulled, cancel, invalidate, nullify, override, rescind, reverse, revoke). (various references)

Danish

skrup, undervegetation (shrub layer, shrub stratum, underbrush, undergrowth), undervækst (shrub layer, shrub stratum, underbrush, undergrowth), underskov (brush, shrub, shrub layer, shrub stratum, underbrush, undergrowth), kratskov (area of stunted trees, forest of stunted trees, scrub forest, shrub layer, shrub stratum, underbrush, undergrowth), kratbevoksning (area of stunted trees, forest of stunted trees), krat (brush, bush, thicket). (various references)

Dutch

struikgewas (shrubbery), onderhout (shrub, shrub layer, shrub stratum, underbrush, undergrowth), ondergroei (shrub, shrub layer, shrub stratum, underbrush, undergrowth), kreupelhout (brake, brush, coppice, coppice forest, sprout forest, thicket). (various references)

Farsi 

مالش (Attrition, Friction), تیغستان (Thorny), تمیزکاری (Scouring), تمیزکردن (Clean, Cleanse, Scavenge, Wisp), ستردن (Efface, Obliterate), سایش (Abrasion, Erosion, Friction, Grind), زمین پرازخاروخاشاک وغیرقابل عبور, ضدعفونی برای عمل جراحی , خارستان مالیدن , خراشیدن (Chafe, Erase, Glance, Graze, Rase, Scrape), ادم گمنام (Nobody), درخت یابوته کوتاه ورشدنکرده . (various references)

Finnish

pensaikko (brushwood, bush, scrubland, thicket), aluskasvillisuus (ground vegetation, undergrowth), alikasvos (shrub layer, shrub stratum, underbrush, undergrowth). (various references)

French

scrub (scrubland), sous-bois, grattement (scrape, scraping, scratching), annuler (scratch), briquer, brosse, broussailles, cambrousse, effacer (scratch, scratch out), équipe de seconde zone, frotter (scour, scrape), laver � la brosse, lessivage, nettoyage (scavenging), nettoyer � la brosse, récurer (scour), frottement (scrubbing, scuff mark, to scrub). (various references)

German

Gestrüpp (brush, brushwood, copse, jungle, undergrowth). (various references)

Greek 

τρίβω (abrade, brush, chafe, fray, frazzle, grate, grind, massage, pound, powder, rub, scour, triturate, wear). (various references)

Hebrew 

למרוק (cleanse, polish, rub, scour), לשפשף (abrade, grate, grind, polish, rub, rubber), לכבס ולשפשף, לרחוץ ולשפשף, צמחי�" � מוכ�". (various references)

Hungarian

sikálás (scouring), satnya (scrogged, scruffy, stunted), cserjés (Bosk, bosky, Bush, bushy, coppice, scrogs, scrubland, shrubbery, spinney, thicket, tuft). (various references)

Indonesian

gahar (scour), belukar (brushwood, copse, copse-wood, grove, shruth, thicket). (various references)

Italian

strofinare (clean, polish, rub, rub down, rubbing, wipe). (various references)

Japanese Kanji 

藪 (bush, grove, thicket), スキャンロン方式 (child-rearing with frequent physical contact, door-to-door condom sales-lady, reskilling, Scanlon plan, school, school bus, school color, school zone, schooling, schoolmate, schooner, scoop, scooter, scramble, scramble race, scrambled eggs, scrap, scrap and build, scrapbook, scratch, scratch hit, scratch match, scratch noise, scratch player, scratch race, scrum, scrum half, scrummage, scuba, scuba diving, self-contained under-water breathing apparatus, skill, skillful, skills inventory system, skin, skin care, skin cream, skin diver, skin diving, skin food, skinheads, square, square dance, square neckline, square stance, squeeze, squeeze bunt, squeeze play, squid). (various references)

Japanese Katakana 

スクラブ , やぶ (bush, grove, thicket). (various references)

Korean 

� �거하십시�" (remove). (various references)

Manx

scryssey magh (abolishment, abolition, amortize, attrition, blot out, blur, blur as vision, delete, deletion, efface, erase, erasure, obliterate, obliteration, scratch out, shatter, strike off, wear off), scrub, scooirey (catharsis, furbish, looseness, polish, purge, scour). (various references)

Maya

cho' (rat, to scrub). (various references)

Pig Latin

ubscray.(various references)

Portuguese

sub-bosque (shrub layer, shrub stratum, underbrush, undergrowth), vegetação arbustiva, vassoura gasta, purificar (chasten, clarify, clean, cleanse, defecate, depurate, distil, distill, elutriate, fine, purge, purify, rarefy, reconcile, rectify, refine, sweeten, wash), pessoa sem valor, moita (brush, bush, clump, tod, tussock, tussock moth), matagal (brake, brushwood, heath, shrubbery, thicket, undergrowth, weald), limpar esfregando, labutar (labor, labour, moider, moil, plod, plug, stew, toil, travail, tug), friccionar (fray, grit, rub), estrato arbustivo e herbáceo (shrub layer, shrub stratum, underbrush, undergrowth), esfregar (fret, mop, rub, rub down, scour, scrape), esfrega (rub), ato de esfregar, arbustos (ivy-bush). (various references)

Romanian

salahor (day labourer, hack, hodman), perie asprã, arbust pipernicit, barbã nerasã de câteva zile (stubble), curãţa (brush, brush up, burnish, clean, cleanse, clear, demolish, do, dredge, dress, dust, furbish, Gill, grub, mop, mop up, pick, purge, purify, refine, rid, rinse, scavenge, scoop, scour, skin, trim, wash, wipe), curãţire cu peria, freca (chafe, contuse, fret, grate, grease, rub, rub on, rub over, slate), arbore pipernicit, om nedezvoltat, tufiş (brush, brushwood, Bush, bushes, covert, Grove, shrubbery, thicket), perie veche, persoanã care lucreazã din greu, persoanã pipernicitã, purifica un gaz, tufãrie, jucãtor de rezervã (emergency man). (various references)

Russian 

чистить щеткой (brush), кустарник (boscage, brushwood, shrub, shrubbery), второй состав, малорослое животное. (various references)

Serbo-Croatian

ribati (rub, scour, slush), ribanje (ragging, rubbing, scour). (various references)

Spanish

maleza (brush, brushwood, undergrowth, weed), fregado (scour, scouring, scrubbing, tiresome, washing up). (various references)

Swedish

buske (bush, shrub). (various references)

Turkish

fundalık (brushwood, Heath, heathland, shrubbery), bodur (brief, dumpy, dwarf, low, podgy, pudgy, punch, scrubby, short, shortie, shorty, shrimp, squabby, squat, stocky, stumpy, stunted), bodur hayvan, cüce (dwarf, elf, gnome, ground-, homunculus, hop-o'-my-thumb, lilliputian, manikin, midget, nano-, pigmy, pygmean, pygmy, runt, scrubby, shrimp, tom thumb), ertelemek (adjourn, carry over, continue, defer, delay, hang up, hold off, hold over, lay aside, lay by, lay over, leave over, postpone, procrastinate, put off, reprieve, reserve, respite, shelve, sidetrack, stay, suspend, table, waive), fırça (brush, rating, scolding, tongue-lashing, whisk), fırça bıyık, fırça ile ovmak, çalılık (brake, braky, brushwood, brush-wood, bushes, coppice, copse, scrubby, shrubbery, spinney, thicket), fırçalamak (brush, scour, whisk), yıkamak (bath, bathe, clean down, launder, lave, lustrate, sluice, splash, wash), ikinci takım (scrub team), iptal etmek (abolish, abort, abrogate, annihilate, annul, avoid, blank out, call off, cancel, countermand, declare off, disaffirm, disallow, invalidate, irritate, negate, nullify, overrule, quash, remit, repeal, rescind, reverse, revoke, set aside, setaside, stultify, suspend, vacate, void, wash out, write off), maki ormanı, ovalama (friction, rub, rubbing, rubdown), ovalamak (chafe, gall, rub), ovma (friction, rub, rubbing, rubdown), ovmak (knead, massage, rub, rub down, scour, scour away, scour off), takıma alınmayan oyuncu, fırçalama (brush). (various references)

Ukrainian

щіточка, чагарник (brush, brushwood, Bush, shrub, shrubbery), чистка (cleaning, clearance, purge, scour), чистити (brighten, burnish, clean, clean down, cleanse, flay, furbish, scour, stem), терти (beat, chafe, fridge, grate, rasp, rub), поденник (daysman, daytaler, journeyman, peon). (various references)

Vietnamese 

người tầm thường (cipher, jack sprat, nobody, nothing, philistine), nơi có bụi rậm b� n chải mòn, nơi có bụi cây, con vật còi, có ria ngắn người còi, cây còi, bụi rậm (covert, dusty), bụi cây (brushwood, bush, shrubbery, thicket), đấu thủ không được v� o chính thức, đội g�"m to� n đấu thủ tạp nham. (various references)

Welsh

sgrwbio, ysgwrio (lather, scour), ysgrwbio. (various references)

Derivations

Words beginning with "scrub": scrubbable, scrubbed, scrubber, scrubbers, scrubbier, scrubbiest, scrubbing, scrubby, scrubland, scrublands, scrubs, scrubwoman, scrubwomen. (additional references)

Misspellings

"Scrub" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: crub, escru, Ncgub, scr, scrab, scrabo, scrib, Scro, scru, Scrubb, scrue, scruf, scrul, scrut, scruw, scrux, scub, scurb, Sgriob, skru, skrud, skrue, skub, sorub, sreb, srib, ssru. (additional references)

Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits.

Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams

Direct Anagrams: curbs.

-1 letter: burs, crus, cubs, curb, curs, rubs, urbs.

-2 letters: bur, bus, cub, cur, rub, sub, urb.

-3 letters: us.

+1 letter: crumbs, cubers, scrubs.

+2 letters: becrust, becurse, becurst, bescour, brucins, buckers, buckras, cherubs, cumbers, curbers, obscure, rubaces, rubrics, scrubby, suberic, subrace, uncurbs.

+3 letters: arbuscle, backrush, becrusts, becursed, becurses, berceuse, bescours, bluchers, bouncers, bronchus, brucines, brunches, bucklers, buckrams, burdocks, butchers, caribous, clubbers, clumbers, cribrous, crumbers, crumbles, crumbums, cudbears, cumbrous, curbings, curbside, labrusca, microbus, obscured, obscurer, obscures, obstruct, roebucks, runbacks, scabrous, scrubbed, scrubber, subacrid, subclerk, suberect, subraces, subtract, subvicar, unbraces.