There are a couple of meanings. Doctors wear scrubs when they go to operate. It's kind of a standard uniform they wear instead of regular clothes. Another meaning is slang for a person who is kind of dirty, kind of poor, unsuccessful, and generally not someone you would want to date. The normal meaning is to use a lot of force to clean off something. You might need to scrub the pots and pans to get all the food off.

In America, the word "scrubs" most commonly has one of the two meanings below: 1) The clothing worn by doctors and nurses during a surgery. 2) The act of cleaning vigorously by rubbing or grinding something against a surface in order to remove something. The slang usage of the term, used to refer to a person, may be more common among certain areas in America than others. I rarely hear it in this part of the country, but would not be surprised to find that it is used all the time in another area. (This happens sometimes, as a slang term may be common within an entire region of the country, or within a culture, but almost unheard of in another region or culture). Here are some examples of the two meanings that I mentioned at the start: "The doctor put on her scrubs." = "The doctor put on the clothing that she wears during surgery." "The nurse put on some scrubs." = "The nurse put on the clothing that they wear during surgery" "He scrubs the dishes." = "He uses something to rub or grind off whatever is on the dishes." "She scrubs her teeth." = "She uses a toothbrush to rub or grind off whatever is on her teeth." "He scrubs his floor." = "He uses something to rub or grind off whatever is on his floor." Notice that in each case above, you can substitute the word "cleans" for the word "scrubs." However, the word "scrubs" means that rubbing or grinding took place, while the word "cleans" can refers to any action that makes something clean. For instance, "cleans" can include spraying, or wiping, or rubbing, or polishing, or grinding, etc. "Scrubs" always includes rubbing or grinding.

"Scrubs" can also describe people who are misfits or who are not of the highest calibre, those whom people in the U.S. would refer to as "second-stringers." This is related to the idea of a sports team's "bench "(or banca, in soccer parlance); they are not the "starters" or "first string."

the garment worn by those who claim to be in the medical profession :P

verb, scrubbed, scrub·bing, noun –verb (used with object) 1. to rub hard with a brush, cloth, etc., or against a rough surface in washing. 2. to subject to friction; rub. 3. to remove (dirt, grime, etc.) from something by hard rubbing while washing. 4. Chemistry . to remove (impurities or undesirable components) from a gas by chemical means, as sulfur dioxide from smokestack gas or carbon dioxide from exhaled air in life-support packs. 5. to cancel or postpone (a space flight or part of a mission): Ground control scrubbed the spacewalk. 6. Slang . to do away with; cancel: Scrub your vacation plans—there's work to do! –verb (used without object) 7. to cleanse something by hard rubbing. 8. to cleanse one's hands and arms as a preparation to performing or assisting in surgery (often fol. by up ). –noun 9. an act or instance of scrubbing. 10. a canceled or postponed space flight, launching, scheduled part of a space mission, etc. 11. something, as a cosmetic preparation, used for scrubbing. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/scrubs+