Definify.com

Webster 1913 Edition

Rubber

Rub′ber

,
Noun.
1.
One who, or that which, rubs.
Specifically:
(a)
An instrument or thing used in rubbing, polishing, or cleaning.
(b)
A coarse file, or the rough part of a file.
(c)
A whetstone; a rubstone.
(d)
An eraser, usually made of caoutchouc or a synthetic rubber[4].
(e)
The cushion of an electrical machine.
(f)
One who performs massage, especially in a Turkish bath.
(g)
Something that chafes or annoys; hence, something that grates on the feelings; a sarcasm; a rub.
Thackeray.
2.
In some games, as bridge or whist, the odd game, as the third or the fifth, which decides the winner when there is a tie between the players;
as, to play the
rubber
; also, a contest determined by the winning of two out of three games;
as, to play a
rubber
of whist
.
Beaconsfield.
“A rubber of cribbage.”
Dickens.
5.
A low-cut overshoe made of natural or synthetic rubber[4], serving to keep the feet and shoes dry when walking in the rain or on a wet surface; – usually used in the plural.
Antimony rubber
,
an elastic durable variety of vulcanized caoutchouc of a red color. It contains antimony sulphide as an important constituent.
–
Hard rubber
,
a kind of vulcanized caoutchouc which nearly resembles horn in texture, rigidity, etc.
–
India rubber
,
caoutchouc. See
Caoutchouc
.
–
Rubber cloth
,
cloth covered with caoutchouc for excluding water or moisture.
–
Rubber dam
(Dentistry)
,
a shield of thin sheet rubber clasped around a tooth to exclude saliva from the tooth.

Definition 2024

rubber

rubber

English

Noun

rubber ‎(usually uncountable, plural rubbers)

  1. (uncountable) Pliable material derived from the sap of the rubber tree; a hydrocarbon polymer of isoprene.
  2. (uncountable, countable) Synthetic materials with the same properties as natural rubber.
  3. (countable, Britain, New Zealand) An eraser.
    • 2006, Lisa Kervin, Research for Educators, page 148,
      For example, they may use paddle pop sticks, hand span, pencils, rubbers, mathematics equipment (i.e. base 10 material) or anything else the teacher can find to measure the lengths of nominated objects.
    • 2010, Anna Jacobs, Beyond the Sunset, unnumbered page,
      Drawing materials, he thought, I used to love drawing as a lad. I can afford some plain paper and pencils, surely? And a rubber, too. He smiled at the memory of an elderly uncle, also fond of drawing, who′d always called rubbers ‘lead eaters’.
    • 2011, Patrick Lindsay, The Spirit of the Digger, Revised edition, unnumbered page,
      Stan stole a diary and some pens, pencils, ink and rubbers during his early days as a POW working on the Singapore docks.
  4. (countable, Canada, US, slang) A condom.
  5. (countable) Someone or something which rubs.
    • 1949, LIFE (11 July 1949, page 21)
      What perplexity plagues the chin-rubber in the foreground and what so discourages the man leaning on the lamp post? And to what doom is the large man at right moving? Photographer Cowherd has no answers.
  6. (countable, baseball) The rectangular pad on the pitcher's mound from which the pitcher must pitch.
    Jones toes the rubber and then fires to the plate.
  7. (Canada, US, in the plural) Water resistant shoe covers, galoshes, overshoes.
    Johnny, don't forget your rubbers today.
  8. (uncountable, slang) Tires, particularly racing tires.
    Jones enters the pits to get new rubber.
Synonyms
  • (condom): see Wikisaurus:condom.
  • (baseball): pitcher's plate, pitcher's rubber
Derived terms
Translations


Adjective

rubber

  1. (slang, of a draft/check) Not covered by funds on account.
Usage Note

The use of this word to refer to a check that has insufficent funds is that the colloquial term for that happening is that the check will "bounce," consequently, a check that will immediately bounce is referred to as "rubber" or a "rubber check."

Translations

Etymology 2

Origin unknown.

Noun

rubber ‎(plural rubbers)

  1. (sports) In relation to a series of games or matches between two competitors where the overall winner of the series is the competitor which wins a majority of the individual games or matches:
    1. 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).
      • 1828 Robert Huish The Red Barn: A Tale, Founded on Fact p.83:
        They played, and Creed and his young partner won the first rubber, winning the two first games running.
      • 1907 May 25, in The Publishers' Weekly, number 1843, page 1608 :
        […] an old lady's innocent rubber.
    2. An individual match within the series (especially in racquet sports).
  2. (sports, Canada, US) a rubber match; a game or match played to break a tie.
  3. The game of rubber bridge.
    Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, The Red-Headed League
    "Still, I confess that I miss my rubber. It is the first Saturday night for seven-and-twenty years that I have not had my rubber." "I think you will find that you will play for a higher stake to-night than you have ever done yet, and that the play will be more exciting."
Derived terms

Etymology 3

Verb

rubber ‎(third-person singular simple present rubbers, present participle rubbering, simple past and past participle rubbered)

  1. To eavesdrop on a telephone call
This entry needs quotations to illustrate usage. If you come across any interesting, durably archived quotes then please add them!

Dutch

Pronunciation

  • Hyphenation: rub‧ber

Etymology

Borrowing from English rubber.

Noun

rubber n ‎(plural rubbers, diminutive rubbertje n)

  1. (uncountable) rubber (pliable material derived from the sap of the rubber tree)
  2. piece of rubber used in machines
  3. a condom

Derived terms

  • rubberen (adjective)

Etymology

rub +‎ -er

The substance was originally named for its ability to function as an eraser. The senses not having to do with rubbing or erasing are secondarily derived from the name of the substance.

Pronunciation

  • (UK) IPA(key): /ˈɹʌbə(ɹ)/, [ˈɹɐbə(ɹ)]
  • (US) IPA(key): /ˈɹʌbɚ/
  • Rhymes: -ʌbə(r)

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