- [uncountable]
a strong substance that can be stretched and does not allow liquids to pass through it, used for making tyres, boots, etc. It is made from the liquid (= sap) inside a tropical plant or is produced using chemicals. 橡胶 a ball made of rubber 皮球 a rubber tree 橡胶树 a rubber plantation 橡胶种植园 My legs were like rubber - I could hardly walk. 我的腿像橡皮一样——我几乎走不动了。 I don't like the smell of burning rubber. 我不喜欢橡胶燃烧的味道。
- [countable] (British English) (also eraser North American English, British English)
a small piece of rubber or a similar substance, used for removing pencil marks from paper; a piece of soft material used for removing chalk marks from a blackboard or pen from a whiteboard 橡皮；黑板擦 
- [countable] (informal, especially North American English)
a condom (= a thin rubber tube that a man wears over his penis during sex to stop a woman from becoming pregnant or to protect against disease) 杜蕾斯避孕套 - [countable]
(in some card games or sports) a competition consisting of a series of games or matches between the same teams or players （某些纸牌游戏或体育运动中相同的对手或队伍间）多轮决胜负的比赛
Word Originnoun senses 1 to 3 and adjective mid 16th cent.: from the verb rub + -er. The original sense was ‘an implement (such as a hard brush) used for rubbing and cleaning’. Because an early use of the elastic substance (previously known as caoutchouc) was to rub out pencil marks, rubber gained the sense ‘eraser’ in the late 18th cent. The sense was subsequently (mid 19th cent.) generalized to refer to the substance in any form or use, at first often differentiated as India rubber.noun sense 4 late 16th cent.: of unknown origin; early use was as a term in bowls.
Idioms
burn rubber
- (informal)
to drive very fast 飞车
where the rubber meets the road