Scrub (skrŭb), v. t.
[imp. & p. p. Scrubbed (skrŭbd);
p. pr. & vb. n. Scrubbing.] [OE.
scrobben, probably of Dutch or Scand. origin; cf. Dan.
skrubbe, Sw. skrubba, D. schrobben, LG.
schrubben.] To rub hard; to wash with rubbing; usually, to
rub with a wet brush, or with something coarse or rough, for the
purpose of cleaning or brightening; as, to scrub a floor, a
doorplate.
Scrub, v. i. To rub anything hard,
especially with a wet brush; to scour; hence, to be diligent and
penurious; as, to scrub hard for a living.
Scrub, n. 1. One
who labors hard and lives meanly; a mean fellow. "A sorry
scrub." Bunyan.
We should go there in as proper a manner as possible;
nor altogether like the scrubs about us.
Goldsmith.
2. Something small and mean.
3. A worn-out brush.
Ainsworth.
4. A thicket or jungle, often specified by the
name of the prevailing plant; as, oak scrub, palmetto
scrub, etc.
5. (Stock Breeding) One of the common
live stock of a region of no particular breed or not of pure breed,
esp. when inferior in size, etc. [U.S.]
Scrub bird (Zoöl.), an Australian
passerine bird of the family Atrichornithidæ, as
Atrichia clamosa; -- called also brush bird. --
Scrub oak (Bot.), the popular name of
several dwarfish species of oak. The scrub oak of New England and the
Middle States is Quercus ilicifolia, a scraggy shrub; that of
the Southern States is a small tree (Q. Catesbæi); that
of the Rocky Mountain region is Q. undulata, var.
Gambelii. -- Scrub robin
(Zoöl.), an Australian singing bird of the genus
Drymodes.
Scrub, a. Mean; dirty;
contemptible; scrubby.
How solitary, how scrub, does this town
look!
Walpole.
No little scrub joint shall come on my
board.
Swift.
Scrub game, a game, as of ball, by
unpracticed players. -- Scrub race, a race
between scrubs, or between untrained animals or contestants.
Scrub (?), n. 1.
Vegetation of inferior quality, though sometimes thick and
impenetrable, growing in poor soil or in sand; also, brush. See
Brush, above. [Australia & South Africa]
2. (Forestry) A low, straggling tree
of inferior quality.
Scrub (skrŭb), v. t.
[imp. & p. p. Scrubbed (skrŭbd);
p. pr. & vb. n. Scrubbing.] [OE.
scrobben, probably of Dutch or Scand. origin; cf. Dan.
skrubbe, Sw. skrubba, D. schrobben, LG.
schrubben.] To rub hard; to wash with rubbing; usually, to
rub with a wet brush, or with something coarse or rough, for the
purpose of cleaning or brightening; as, to scrub a floor, a
doorplate.
Scrub, v. i. To rub anything hard,
especially with a wet brush; to scour; hence, to be diligent and
penurious; as, to scrub hard for a living.
Scrub, n. 1. One
who labors hard and lives meanly; a mean fellow. "A sorry
scrub." Bunyan.
We should go there in as proper a manner as possible;
nor altogether like the scrubs about us.
Goldsmith.
2. Something small and mean.
3. A worn-out brush.
Ainsworth.
4. A thicket or jungle, often specified by the
name of the prevailing plant; as, oak scrub, palmetto
scrub, etc.
5. (Stock Breeding) One of the common
live stock of a region of no particular breed or not of pure breed,
esp. when inferior in size, etc. [U.S.]
Scrub bird (Zoöl.), an Australian
passerine bird of the family Atrichornithidæ, as
Atrichia clamosa; -- called also brush bird. --
Scrub oak (Bot.), the popular name of
several dwarfish species of oak. The scrub oak of New England and the
Middle States is Quercus ilicifolia, a scraggy shrub; that of
the Southern States is a small tree (Q. Catesbæi); that
of the Rocky Mountain region is Q. undulata, var.
Gambelii. -- Scrub robin
(Zoöl.), an Australian singing bird of the genus
Drymodes.
Scrub, a. Mean; dirty;
contemptible; scrubby.
How solitary, how scrub, does this town
look!
Walpole.
No little scrub joint shall come on my
board.
Swift.
Scrub game, a game, as of ball, by
unpracticed players. -- Scrub race, a race
between scrubs, or between untrained animals or contestants.
Scrub (?), n. 1.
Vegetation of inferior quality, though sometimes thick and
impenetrable, growing in poor soil or in sand; also, brush. See
Brush, above. [Australia & South Africa]
2. (Forestry) A low, straggling tree
of inferior quality.
