rub

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We're still very competitive on the one's but that's where the rub is and what we've experienced over the last, and Inland Empires, about I'd say (inaudible) about 18 to 24 months into this right now, 18 months into it.

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Definitions (69)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (28)

  1. transitive verb To apply pressure and friction to (a surface).
  2. transitive verb To clean, polish, or manipulate by the application of pressure and friction.
  3. transitive verb To apply to a surface firmly and with friction: rub lotion on the hands; rub dye into the fabric.

Toggle Century definitions Century Dictionary (33)

Toggle GNU Webster definitions GNU Webster's 1913 (3)

Toggle WordNet definitions WordNet (5)

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Examples (50)

  • But the rub is, what can we or should we do about it? —  Truthdig: Drilling Beneath the Headlines
  • And there's the real rub, which is that we are only really talking about drawing lines of social distinction. —  WORLD Magazine | Community
  • But here's the rub, your looks will fade and my money will likely continue into perpetuity ... in fact, it is very likely that my income increases but it is an absolute certainty that you won't be getting any more beautiful! —  Latest Articles
  • But the rub is: who is "knowingly" incorrectly refuting AGW - as in the definition of perjury - who should be prosecuted? —  RealClimate
  • The rub, according to those stalwart stewards of alcohol comsumption, is that the machine constitutes self-service, illegal in Oregon. —  BlueOregon
 

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This word has been looked up 154 times.

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Roget's II Roget's II: The New Thesaurus

Allen's Allen's Synonyms and Antonyms

Used in the same context Used in the Same Context

squeeze ·  pepper ·  tablespoonful ·  flour ·  scrape ·  vinegar ·  sponge ·  wash ·  pinch ·  lemon ·  parsley ·  biscuit

Used in the same contextWord Family

rub:   rubs ·  rubbed ·  rubbing
Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary. Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Etymologies (3)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. Middle English rubben.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (2)

  1. from Middle English rubben; origin uncertain; cf. Danish rubbe (from English ?); Gaelic rub, rub, Irish Gaelic rubadh, a rubbing, Irish ruboir, Gaelic rubair, a rubber, Welsh rhwbio, rub, rhwb, a rub. The Celtic forms may be original.
  2. from rub, v.; cf. Welsh rhwb, a rub.
 

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/rəb/
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