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View synonyms for rub in

rub in

verb

  1. to spread with pressure, esp in order to cause to be absorbed
  2. rub it in informal.
    to harp on (something distasteful to a person, of which he or she does not wish to be reminded)
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012


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Idioms and Phrases

Also, rub it in . Harp on something, especially an unpleasant matter, as in She always rubs in the fact that she graduated with honors and I didn't , or I know I forgot your birthday, but don't keep rubbing it in . This idiom alludes to the expression rub salt into a wound , an action that makes the wound more painful; it dates from medieval times and remains current. [Mid-1800s] Also see rub someone's nose in it .

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

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