DICT.TW Dictionary Taiwan

 Rub·ber n.
 1. One who, or that which, rubs. Specifically: (a) An instrument or thing used in rubbing, polishing, or cleaning. (b) A coarse file, or the rough part of a file. (c) A whetstone; a rubstone. (d) An eraser, usually made of caoutchouc or a synthetic rubber[4]. (e) The cushion of an electrical machine. (f) One who performs massage, especially in a Turkish bath. (g) Something that chafes or annoys; hence, something that grates on the feelings; a sarcasm; a rub.
 2. In some games, as bridge or whist, the odd game, as the third or the fifth, which decides the winner when there is a tie between the players; as, to play the rubber; also, a contest determined by the winning of two out of three games; as, to play a rubber of whist. --Beaconsfield.  “A rubber of cribbage.” --Dickens.
 3. India rubber; caoutchouc; gum elastic; -- also called natural rubber.
 5. A low-cut overshoe made of natural or synthetic rubber[4], serving to keep the feet and shoes dry when walking in the rain or on a wet surface; -- usually used in the plural.
 Antimony rubber, an elastic durable variety of vulcanized caoutchouc of a red color.  It contains antimony sulphide as an important constituent.
 Hard rubber, a kind of vulcanized caoutchouc which nearly resembles horn in texture, rigidity, etc.
 India rubber, caoutchouc. See Caoutchouc.
 Rubber cloth, cloth covered with caoutchouc for excluding water or moisture.
 Rubber dam Dentistry, a shield of thin sheet rubber clasped around a tooth to exclude saliva from the tooth.
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 Hard a. [Compar. Harder superl. Hardest.]
 1. Not easily penetrated, cut, or separated into parts; not yielding to pressure; firm; solid; compact; -- applied to material bodies, and opposed to soft; as, hard wood; hard flesh; a hard apple.
 2. Difficult, mentally or judicially; not easily apprehended, decided, or resolved; as a hard problem.
    The hard causes they brought unto Moses.   --Ex. xviii. 26.
    In which are some things hard to be understood.   --2 Peter iii. 16.
 3. Difficult to accomplish; full of obstacles; laborious; fatiguing; arduous; as, a hard task; a disease hard to cure.
 4. Difficult to resist or control; powerful.
    The stag was too hard for the horse.   --L'Estrange.
    A power which will be always too hard for them.   --Addison.
 5. Difficult to bear or endure; not easy to put up with or consent to; hence, severe; rigorous; oppressive; distressing; unjust; grasping; as, a hard lot; hard times; hard fare; a hard winter; hard conditions or terms.
    I never could drive a hard bargain.   --Burke.
 6. Difficult to please or influence; stern; unyielding; obdurate; unsympathetic; unfeeling; cruel; as, a hard master; a hard heart; hard words; a hard character.
 7. Not easy or agreeable to the taste; harsh; stiff; rigid; ungraceful; repelling; as, a hard style.
    Figures harder than even the marble itself.   --Dryden.
 8. Rough; acid; sour, as liquors; as, hard cider.
 9. Pron. Abrupt or explosive in utterance; not aspirated, sibilated, or pronounced with a gradual change of the organs from one position to another; -- said of certain consonants, as c in came, and g in go, as distinguished from the same letters in center, general, etc.
 10. Wanting softness or smoothness of utterance; harsh; as, a hard tone.
 11. Painting (a) Rigid in the drawing or distribution of the figures; formal; lacking grace of composition. (b) Having disagreeable and abrupt contrasts in the coloring or light and shade.
 Hard cancer, Hard case, etc. See under Cancer, Case, etc.
 Hard clam, or Hard-shelled clam Zool., the quahog.
 Hard coal, anthracite, as distinguished from bituminous coal (soft coal).
 Hard and fast. Naut. See under Fast.
 Hard finish Arch., a smooth finishing coat of hard fine plaster applied to the surface of rough plastering.
 Hard lines, hardship; difficult conditions.
 Hard money, coin or specie, as distinguished from paper money.
 Hard oyster Zool., the northern native oyster. [Local, U. S.]
 Hard pan, the hard stratum of earth lying beneath the soil; hence, figuratively, the firm, substantial, fundamental part or quality of anything; as, the hard pan of character, of a matter in dispute, etc. See Pan.
 Hard rubber. See under Rubber.
 Hard solder. See under Solder.
 Hard water, water, which contains lime or some mineral substance rendering it unfit for washing. See Hardness, 3.
 Hard wood, wood of a solid or hard texture; as walnut, oak, ash, box, and the like, in distinction from pine, poplar, hemlock, etc.
 In hard condition, in excellent condition for racing; having firm muscles; -- said of race horses.
 Syn: -- Solid; arduous; powerful; trying; unyielding; stubborn; stern; flinty; unfeeling; harsh; difficult; severe; obdurate; rigid. See Solid, and Arduous.

 hard rubber
      n : a hard nonresilient rubber formed by vulcanizing natural
          rubber [syn: vulcanite, ebonite]