rub off

See also: ruboff and rub-off

English

Verb

rub off (third-person singular simple present rubs off, present participle rubbing off, simple past and past participle rubbed off)

  1. Used other than with a figurative or idiomatic meaning: see rub,‎ off.
  2. To clean by rubbing.
    • 1922, Margery Williams, The Velveteen Rabbit
      He was wet through with the dew and quite earthy from diving into the burrows the Boy had made for him in the flower bed, and Nana grumbled as she rubbed him off with a corner of her apron.
  3. (intransitive, idiomatic) to be transferred with little or no effort
    I hoped that, if I hung out with the popular kids, some of their charisma might rub off on me.

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