What does scrub mean?
Scrub has several related uses, all connected with cleaning, clearing, or taking something out of a larger whole. As a verb, it most commonly means to rub a surface hard in order to remove dirt, paint, or stains; people also say they scrubbed their hands, their face, or a floor. In formal and technical contexts, scrub can mean removing sensitive or irrelevant information from a record or database, while in travel language it can mean cancelling a booking. As a noun, a scrub is an act of rubbing or cleaning, a brush, or an area of rough, low vegetation. The word is useful because a single ordinary term connects physical cleaning with the broader idea of clearing away material. Its meaning can therefore shift according to context: people scrub a surface, scrub data from a file, or scrub a reservation from a travel system.
To rub something vigorously in order to clean it; also, to remove information from a record or cancel a reservation.
"They scrubbed the stone steps until the dirt came away."
The information-removal and cancellation senses are specialized or figurative extensions of the basic cleaning meaning.
An act of rubbing or cleaning; a brush; or land covered with low, rough vegetation.
"The path led through dense scrub beside the railway line."
The vegetation sense is particularly associated with British English, though it is understood in American English as well.
The plural is used for multiple cleaning acts, brushes, or areas of rough vegetation.
"The workers scrubbed the walls and scrubbed the floors before leaving."
The word 'scrub' can mean cleaning by vigorous rubbing, removing sensitive information from a record, or even cancelling a booking—the range of the word is wider than its ordinary household sense suggests.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does scrub come from?
The verb entered Middle English in the sense of rubbing or cleaning, from a Germanic source related to Dutch schrubben and German schrubben. The noun developed in related senses for a brush and for rough, low vegetation, with modern extensions such as removing records and cancelling reservations. The word is also related in its Germanic history to shrub, although the two now have distinct everyday meanings.
Related word forms
How scrub is actually used
The cleaning sense is standard in both British and American English. In computing and records management, 'scrub' often means removing information, especially information that should no longer be retained; in travel contexts, it commonly means cancel a reservation. The noun sense for rough, low vegetation is especially familiar in British English but is also used in American English.
Easily confused with scrub
A scrub is an act of cleaning, a brush, or rough low vegetation, whereas a shrub is a woody plant, typically smaller than a tree.