scrub

/skrʌb/
verb
  1. To rub something hard, especially with a brush and soap or water, in order to clean it.
    • She had to scrub the kitchen floor on her hands and knees.
    • He scrubbed the burnt pot with steel wool for ten minutes.
    • The nurse scrubbed her hands thoroughly before the operation.
  2. To cancel or abandon a plan, event, or activity.
    • We had to scrub our vacation plans because of the emergency.
    • The director decided to scrub the entire scene from the movie.
    • Bad weather forced them to scrub the space launch.
  3. To remove impurities or harmful substances from a gas or exhaust.
    • Modern power plants scrub sulfur dioxide from their emissions.
    • Scientists are developing ways to scrub carbon dioxide from the air.
    • The factory installed new equipment to scrub pollutants from its smoke.
Antonyms
noun
  1. An act of rubbing something hard to clean it.
    • Give the bathtub a good scrub with bleach.
    • The floor needed a thorough scrub to remove the stains.
    • After a long hike, a quick scrub in the shower felt great.
  2. Low, stunted trees and bushes growing in poor soil or dry areas.
    • The land was covered in dry scrub and scattered rocks.
    • Kangaroos can often be seen grazing in the Australian scrub.
    • The hikers pushed through thick scrub to reach the river.
  3. A person or thing that is small, inferior, or not important.
    • In the world of professional sports, a scrub is a player who rarely starts.
    • He was just a scrub on the team, barely getting any playing time.
    • Don't listen to those scrubs who don't know what they're talking about.
  4. A type of medical or surgical cleaning garment, typically a short-sleeved shirt and pants.
    • Nurses often wear colorful scrubs to make patients feel more comfortable.
    • The doctor changed into her scrubs before entering the operating room.
    • He bought a new set of scrubs for his first day at the hospital.
Synonyms
adjective
  1. Small, inferior, or of low quality.
    • The team was made up of scrub players who had never won a game.
    • He drove an old scrub car that barely ran.
    • They lived in a scrub little house on the edge of town.
What does "scrub" mean? | whatsthatwordmean | whatsthatwordmean