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Definition of scrub noun from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

scrub

noun
 
/skrʌb/
 
/skrʌb/
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  1. [singular] an act of scrubbing something
    • I've given the floor a good scrub.
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective
    • good
    verb + scrub
    • give somebody/​something
    scrub + noun
    • brush
    See full entry
  2. [uncountable] small bushes and trees
    • The vegetation consisted of low scrub.
    • The bird disappeared into the scrub.
    Extra Examples
    • The horses stood near a patch of scrub.
    • The mountain was covered in scrub.
    Topics Plants and treesc2
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective
    • desert
    • low
    • dense
    • …
    … of scrub
    • patch
    verb + scrub
    • be covered in
    • be overgrown with
    See full entry
  3. (also scrubland)
     [uncountable] an area of dry land covered with small bushes and trees
    • miles of desert scrub
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective
    • desert
    • low
    • dense
    • …
    … of scrub
    • patch
    verb + scrub
    • be covered in
    • be overgrown with
    See full entry
  4. scrubs
     [plural] (specialist) the special clothes worn by surgeons when they are doing medical operations
    Wordfinder
    Topics Healthcarec2
    5. Word Originnoun sense 1 and noun sense 4 late 16th cent.: probably from Middle Low German, Middle Dutch schrobben, schrubben. noun senses 2 to 3 late Middle English (in the sense ‘stunted tree’): variant of shrub.
See scrub in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary
Check pronunciation: scrub

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