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cruel to an animal. The RSPCA looks after animals with no homes, and sells them to people who want them. There is a similar organization in the US called the SPCA.
RSV /,ɑːr es ˈviː/ abbrev. for REVISED STANDARD VERSION
RSVP /,ɑːr es viː ˈpiː/ letters written on an invitation to a party, wedding etc, asking you to say whether you will attend or not. They are based on the French words 'répondez s'il vous plaît' (=please reply).
Rt Hon written abbrev. for RIGHT HONOURABLE
Rt. Rev. written abbrev. for Right Reverend; the title given to BISHOPS in the Church of England and the Roman Catholic Church
rub¹ /rʌb/ v -bb- 1 [I;T] to press one's hand or another surface against (something), usually with a repeated up-and-down or round-and-round movement: He rubbed his itchy skin. | I rubbed the window with a cloth. | She rubbed the rude words off the board. | I accidentally rubbed against the wet paint, and ruined my jacket. 2 [T[TOGETHER]] to slide (two surfaces) against each other in this way: He rubbed his hands (together) with pleasure/to warm them. 3 [I[against, on]] (of a surface) to slide up and down or round and round, especially so as to cause pain or damage: My shoe's rubbing. (=against my heel, toe etc) | This tyre seems badly worn; it must be rubbing against/on something. 4 [T+obj+adv/prep] to put on, over, or into a surface by rubbing: Rub salt into the meat before cooking it. | Rub the ointment in well. | Spray the polish onto the table and rub it well in with a soft cloth. 5 [T+obj+adj/adv/prep] to make or put in the stated condition by rubbing: Rub your hair dry with this cloth. | You've rubbed a hole in the elbow of your coat. 6 rub it in infml to keep talking about something that another person wants to forget, such as a past mistake: 'I told you it would never work like that.' 'All right – there's no need to rub it in!' 7 rub salt into/someone's wound(s) to make someone's suffering or annoyance even worse 8 rub shoulders with infml to meet socially and treat as equals (especially people of a different type or social class): In my job I rub shoulders with all sorts of interesting people. 9 rub someone's nose in it/in the dirt infml to punish someone by reminding them of the bad results of their actions 10 rub someone (up) the wrong way infml to annoy someone, especially by dealing with them without proper care or thought; ANTAGONIZE
rub along phr v [I] BrE infml 1 [(by, on)] to continue to live or to do what is necessary, but with difficulty; SURVIVE: We haven't got much money, but we rub along somehow. 2 [(with, TOGETHER)] to have a fairly good relationship; remain quite friendly: My boss and I seem to rub along (together) all right.
rub down phr v 1 [I;T(= rub sbdy/sthg, ⇔ down)] to dry (oneself or an animal) by rubbing: She rubbed her horse down after her ride. 2 [T[rub sthg, ⇔ down]] to clean or make smooth (a surface) by rubbing: Rub the door down before you paint it. → see also RUBDOWN
rub off phr v I [(on, onto)] to come off a surface by rubbing: The paint marks will rub off quite easily. | (fig.) I hope that some of her good qualities will rub off onto you. (=that you will get some of her good qualities as a result of working or spending time with her)
rub out phr v 1 [I;T(= rub sthg, ⇔ out)] BrE || erase AmE — to remove (especially pencil writing) or be removed with a RUBBER: He pencilled in his name, then changed his mind and rubbed it out. | These marks won't rub out properly. 2 [T[rub sbdy, ⇔ out]] AmE slang to murder
rub² n 1 [S] infml an act of rubbing: Give the table a good rub with this cloth. 2 there's the rub there's the difficulty or cause of trouble: We need to borrow more money to save the company, but there's the rub: no one will lend us any. 3 the rub of the green BrE infml (the influence of) a piece of good or bad luck
rub·ber¹ /'rʌbər/ n 1 [U] a substance, made either naturally from the juice of a tropical tree or artificially, which keeps out water and springs back into position when stretched: Tyres are made of rubber. | a rubber plantation | a rubber ball 2 [C] especially BrE a piece of rubber used for removing pencil marks; ERASER 3 [C] especially BrE || eraser AmE — a piece of material used for rubbing surfaces to clean them: a board rubber (=for cleaning BLACKBOARDS) 4 [C] AmE infml for CONDOM 5 [C usually pl.] AmE for GALOSH → see also RUBBERY 6 AmE (in BASEBALL) the piece of material placed where the PITCHER stands: Nieko consults with the catcher before going back to the rubber and preparing for the next pitch.
rubber² n a competition, especially in cards or international cricket, which usually consists of an odd number of games: Shall we have/play a few rubbers of bridge after dinner?
,rubber 'band also elastic band n a thin circular piece of rubber used for fastening things together: Put a rubber band round this bunch of flowers.
'rubber boot n AmE for a WELLINGTON
,rubber ce'ment n [U] AmE a very sticky kind of glue which dries slowly
,rubber 'dinghy n a small rubber boat blown up with air
rub·ber·neck /'rʌbənek||-ər-/ v [I] infml derog 1 to look about or watch something with too much interest, especially an accident 2 AmE to go on a pleasure trip as one of a group with a guide —rubbernecking n [U] infml especially AmE Police believe that rubbernecking caused the second crash.
rub·ber·neck·er /'rʌbəˌnekər/ n infml someone who looks with great interest at something that has happened, especially someone who drives very slowly in order to look at an accident on the road: Rubberneckers are causing traffic to slow in the southbound lane.
'rubber plant n a decorative house plant with large shiny dark green leaves
,rubber 'stamp n 1 a small object used for printing the date, the name of an organization etc, consisting of a piece of rubber on a handle, with raised letters or figures, which is pressed onto an INKPAD and then onto the printing surface 2 usually derog a person or body that acts only to make official the decisions already made by another
,rubber-'stamp v [T] often derog to give official approval to (a decision) without really thinking about it: The divorce proceedings are a formality; the court will just rubber-stamp them.
'rubber tree n a tropical tree from which rubber is obtained
rub·ber·y /'rʌbəri/ adj strong and slightly elastic like rubber: The meat's a bit rubbery – you cooked it too long!
rub·bing /'rʌbɪŋ/ n a copy of a raised shape or pattern in stone or metal (especially brass), made by rubbing a piece of paper laid over the shape with WAX, chalk etc: She did a brass rubbing of the medieval knight in the old church.
'rubbing,alcohol n [U] AmE for SURGICAL SPIRIT
rub·bish¹ /'rʌbʃ/ n [U] BrE 1 also garbage, trash AmE things or material of no use or value that will be or have been thrown away: The dustmen come on Thursdays to collect the rubbish. | Throw it on the rubbish heap. | household rubbish 2 something worthless that does not deserve serious attention; nonsense: He's talking a load of rubbish. | That new TV show is absolute rubbish.
rubbish² v [T] infml, especially BrE & AustrE to say that (someone or something) is bad or worthless; severely CRITICIZE: The government's plan was rubbished by the opposition parties.
'rubbish bin BrE || trash can, garbage can AmE — n 1 a DUSTBIN 2 a container for rubbish
rub·bish·y /'rʌbɪʃi/ adj infml, especially BrE worthless and silly; TRASHY: a rubbishy love story
rub·ble /'rʌbəl/ n [U] (a mass of) broken stones or bricks especially from a building that has been destroyed: After the bombing her house was just a heap of rubble.
rub·down /'rʌbdan/ also ,rub 'down n 1 an act of rubbing something down (RUB down): Give the wall a rubdown with some sandpaper. 2 AmE a MASSAGE, especially after exercise
rube /ru:b/ n AmE derog slang a person, usually from the country, who does not understand the ways of the world and lacks taste: Those rubes wouldn't know a good show if they saw one!
Rube Gold·berg /ˌruːb 'gəʊldbɜːɡ||-bɜːrɡ/ adj AmE a Rube Goldberg machine etc is very complicated and impractical, in an amusing way; HEATH ROBINSON BrE
ru·bel·la /ruː'belə/ n [U] med for GERMAN MEASLES
Ru·bens, Peter Paul /'ruːbənz/ (1577–1640) a Flemish artist, one of the greatest European painters, who produced several thousand paintings, especially based on religious subjects and scenes from ancient Greek and Roman stories. The women in Rubens' paintings usually have attractively large