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Dictionary

Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

rub shoulders en · VERB

Pronunciation

Meanings

  1. (followed by with, idiomatic, usually) To associate closely; to socialize or mingle.
    • It pays to network and rub shoulders virtually with potential customers on the Web. 2010 March 10, Lori Ioannou, “Use Social Media to Build Your Brand”, in Time:
    • [N]ow and then the two dress themselves roughly, like common men, and go out into the city to see what it's like to rub shoulders with the rest of the world. 1915, Frances Hodgson Burnett, chapter 24, in The Lost Prince:
    • All classes rub shoulders on the greasy benches. 1887, Robert Louis Stevenson, chapter 1, in Memories and Portraits:
    • In this establishment, as everybody knows, on occasions when the crush is great, the animals rub shoulders freely with the spectators. 1894, Henry James, chapter 6, in The Death of the Lion:

Forms

SpellingFeaturesLabelsSource
rubs shoulders Number=Sing, Person=3, Tense=Pres lexicographic
rubbed shoulders Tense=Past, VerbForm=Part lexicographic
rubbed shoulders Tense=Past lexicographic
rubbing shoulders Tense=Pres, VerbForm=Part lexicographic

Synonyms

rub elbows