- present participle of rub.
rubbing
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
In court on Thursday, the suspect appeared to be emotional, keeping his head down and rubbing his eyes as the judge set his bond and remanded him back into police custody.
From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2026
The feeling of responsibility is probably rubbing up against your financial and personal boundaries.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 5, 2026
Officials said that several children outside in a patio area were roasting marshmallows on a device called Flikr Fire, a tabletop fireplace kit that uses rubbing alcohol for fuel and was recalled in 2024.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 29, 2026
That social-media exposure appears to be rubbing off on the younger generation.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 31, 2026
I frowned at her, rubbing my stinging fingers as I shoved the piece of bread I’d been holding into my mouth before she commandeered it.
From "Glitch" by Laura Martin
Similarly, a study published in May in the journal Communications Biology found that elephants form complex "sentences" through their various rumbles, ear flags, trunk rubbings and other actions.
From Salon ● Jul. 31, 2024
Macie and his resident partner, Sophie Lynn Morris, also made Måla modeling dough casts of the fissures found on display furniture and crayon rubbings off the splintering cement floor.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 26, 2023
In New York, the quietist impulse hit a bump: paintings were based on rubbings he made of Manhattan sewer grates and manhole covers.
From New York Times ● Dec. 16, 2021
In 2016 graphic designer Marina Willer created a booklet of neon rubbings; manhole colouring books are available for people seeking mindfulness; and a Shoreditch company offers framed prints of rubbings for £80.
From BBC ● May 14, 2021
“Didn’t mean to hurt your feelings. Was it something I said? The rubbings, they’re for a local history project, it’s not as if I’m, you know, digging up bones or anything.”
From "The Graveyard Book" by Neil Gaiman
Vocabulary lists containing rubbing
Visual Arts - Introductory
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Visual Arts - High School
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Visual Arts - Middle School
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