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rubber

Pronunciation: /ˈɹʌbə/

The English word “rubber” has 20 meanings listed here.

noun

  1. Pliable material derived from the sap of the rubber tree; a hydrocarbon biopolymer of isoprene.
  2. Natural rubber or any of various synthetic materials with similar properties as natural rubber.
  3. An eraser.
  4. A condom, especially an external condom.
  5. Someone or something which rubs.
  6. One who rubs down horses.
  7. One who practises massage.
  8. A coarse towel for rubbing the body.
  9. An abrasive for rubbing with: a whetstone, file, or emery cloth, etc.
  10. The cushion of an electric machine.
  11. The rectangular pad on the pitcher's mound from which the pitcher must pitch.
  12. Water-resistant shoe covers, galoshes, overshoes.
  13. Tires, particularly racing tires.
  14. A hardship or misfortune.
  15. The entire series, of an odd number of games or matches in which ties are impossible (especially a series of three games in bridge or whist).
  16. An individual match within the series (especially in racquet sports).
  17. A rubber match; a game or match played to break a tie.
  18. The game of rubber bridge.

adjective

  1. Not covered by funds on account.

verb

  1. To eavesdrop on a telephone call

Etymology

From rub + -er. The sense of the substance comes from its ability to function as an eraser, displacing earlier caoutchouc. The senses not pertaining to rubbing or erasing are secondarily derived from the name of the substance.

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Definitions are from Wiktionary, extracted by Kaikki.org, and are available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.