rubber

Everyday

1. Rubber is a soft, stretchy material that bounces and keeps water out; it is made from the sap of rubber trees or from chemicals. tree →
2. In the UK, Ireland and Australia a rubber is a small block you use to rub out pencil marks; in the USA this is called an eraser. tree →
3. Rubber can mean things made of it, such as tyres, boots or gloves. tree →
4. A rubber can also be a pad or bundle of material used to rub something clean. tree →

In the lessons

In science rubber is a good example of a stretchy (elastic) material and of an insulator: electricity does not pass through it easily, so tools for electricians have rubber handles. In everyday life it means boots, gloves, bands, balls and tyres; rubber soles grip and stop slipping. At school a pupil may ask to borrow a rubber to fix a mistake. Phrases: rubber band, rubber boots (wellies), rubber gloves, rubber duck, rubber stamp.

Examples

• The ball is made of rubber, so it bounces high. tree →
• Can I borrow your rubber? I wrote the wrong number. tree →
• Mum wears rubber gloves to wash the dishes. tree →
• Put a rubber band around the cards so they don't fall out. tree →
• Rubber does not let electricity pass through it easily. tree →
• My rubber boots kept my feet dry in the puddles. tree →
• The car's tyres are made of rubber. tree →
• Rubber comes from a white sap called latex that drips from rubber trees. tree →
• I got heather and I made a rubber of it, and I set him upright in the caldron. tree →

Note

As a material it is uncountable (made of rubber, some rubber); as the thing for rubbing out it is countable (a rubber, two rubbers). In the USA say «eraser» — «rubber» there can sound like slang, so pupils in America use «eraser». Not the same as «robber» (a thief). Rubber is not a perfect insulator when wet, so never touch electric things with wet hands even in rubber gloves.