She took another deep breath and rubbed her nostrils with the back of a bent finger.

NEWYORKER: Miracle Polish

At a table covered with egg cartons, a frizzy-haired blonde in fingerless gloves rubbed her hands together and lit a cigarette.

NEWYORKER: The Repatriates

Inside Nero's classroom at the Martin Luther King Multicultural Institute, little Rhema Jones rubbed her eyes and told a visitor she didn't want to be there.

WSJ: Districts find youngest students among most absent

She peeled the hood of the wetsuit off her head, rubbed her ears hard to animate them, then tugged on the cap, tucking her wet hair under it.

NPR: Excerpt: 'The Assassins Gallery'

Surprised, Zuckerberg approached her and rubbed her right shoulder.

NEWYORKER: The Face of Facebook

Standing in front of the mirror, she repeatedly rubbed a white cross on her forehead, an action that she could only have performed by connecting her reflected image with her own body.

WSJ: The Brains of the Animal Kingdom

Curtains rubbed against it and Susanne immediately snapped her hand to her chest as if burned.

NEWYORKER: The Yellow

She placed her fingertip on the dashboard and rubbed it back and forth.

NEWYORKER: Fiction