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Dictionary

Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

scrub in en · VERB

Meanings

  1. To thoroughly wash one's hands and forearms in preparation for performing a surgery.
    • There were no booties to wear over their shoes, and they wore scrub caps on their heads only if they were going to scrub in for a procedure. When you scrubbed in for surgery you couldn't touch anything after you finished scrubbing. 2007 September 11, Mary Lou Parks, "O Lord Have Mercy!": Finding Our Way As Student Nurses in the 1950s, Dog Ear Publishing, →ISBN, →OL, page 83:
    • Members of the transplant team scrub in and go about their respective duties. 2008 August 18, Lee G. Bolman with Terrence E. Deal, Reframing Organizations: Artistry, Choice and Leadership, 4th edition, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, →ISBN, →OL, page 99:
    • When we were assigned to a surgical patient, we were expected to “scrub in” on his or her patients’ surgery when it occurred. […] To “scrub in” on a case meant one was to be part of the operating team, which might consist of one or two advanced residents and a second year resident or intern or two. 2009 August 26, Thomas F. Sellers, Jr., What's Up, Doc?: A Lifetime in Medicine: 1946-1990, Bloomington: iUniverse, →ISBN, →OL, page 43:
  2. To break in new racing tires by doing a few gentle laps on them, with the resulting heat serving to remove factory coatings and provide better grip.

Forms

SpellingFeaturesLabelsSource
scrubbing in Tense=Pres, VerbForm=Part lexicographic
scrubbed in Tense=Past, VerbForm=Part lexicographic
scrubbed in Tense=Past lexicographic
scrubs in Number=Sing, Person=3, Tense=Pres lexicographic

Synonyms

scrub up · scuff · scrub