noun Scrub n. 1.One who labors hard and lives meanly; a mean fellow. "A sorry scrub." "We should go there in as proper a manner as possible; nor altogether like the scrubs about us." 2.Something small and mean. 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.) 6.Vegetation of inferior quality, though sometimes thick and impenetrable, growing in poor soil or in sand; also, brush; called also scrub brush. See Brush, above. (Australia & South Africa) 7.(Forestry) A low, straggling tree of inferior quality. Scrub bird (Zool.), an Australian passerine bird of the family Atrichornithidae, 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 (Quercus Catesbaei); that of the Rocky Mountain region is Quercus undulata, var. Gambelii. Scrub robin (Zool.), an Australian singing bird of the genus Drymodes.
verb Scrub v. t. (past & past part. scrubbed; pres. part. scrubbing) 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.
adjective Scrub adj. Mean; dirty; contemptible; scrubby. "How solitary, how scrub, does this town look!" "No little scrub joint shall come on my board." Scrub game, a game, as of ball, by unpracticed players. Scrub race, a race between scrubs, or between untrained animals or contestants.
Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48
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