Definition of Scrubs

Scrubs: A protective garment designed to be worn by the doctor, nurse, and others in the operating room. The garment was originally a gown. Scrubs now include the shirt and pants worn by those who scrub in for surgery.

The wearing of scrubs extends outside surgery in some hospitals and clinics. It is a fashion statement to wear scrubs outside, as to shop in a supermarket. Wearing scrubs has become a badge of the profession, like wearing a white coat or carrying a stethoscope.

Scrubs were once all one color, often a drab blue (known as Dr. blue) or a mint green. Now scrubs come in a rainbow of colors and in floral, aloha, and animal prints and there are scrubs for children. Scrubs are characteristically of cotton. Now there are also scrubs made of blends of polyester and cotton to maintain "a wrinkle-free professional looking appearance with little fuss."