1To rub, knead or squeeze something between the hands or fingers; also to crumple paper or cloth.
塩をふって、きゅうりを軽く揉んでください。
Sprinkle on some salt and rub the cucumber lightly.
洗濯機がないので、シャツを手で揉んで洗った。
There was no washing machine, so I washed the shirt by rubbing it with my hands.
和紙を軽く揉むと、柔らかい風合いが出る。
If you crumple washi paper lightly, it takes on a soft texture.
茶葉を手で揉んでから乾かすのが、この製法の特徴だ。
Rubbing the tea leaves by hand before drying them is what characterizes this method.
2To massage — to knead and press a part of the body, such as the shoulders or legs, to relieve stiffness or fatigue.
父の肩を揉んであげたら、とても喜んでくれた。
My father was really pleased when I gave his shoulders a rub.
立ち仕事のあとは、ふくらはぎを揉むと楽になる。
After a day on your feet, massaging your calves makes them feel better.
母に「ちょっと肩をもんで」と頼まれた。
My mother asked me to rub her shoulders for a bit.
マッサージ店で全身をじっくり揉んでもらった。
I had my whole body thoroughly massaged at a massage parlor.
3To thrash out a plan or set of terms through vigorous discussion until it is refined. Note that this transitive もむ is a different form from the intransitive もめる, which means to end up in a dispute.
この企画案は、会議でもう少し揉んだほうがいい。
This proposal should be hashed out a bit more in the meeting.
部内で十分に揉んでから、部長に提出しよう。
Let's thrash it out thoroughly within the department before submitting it to the manager.
予算については、来週の会議でじっくり揉むことになった。
We decided to go over the budget carefully at next week's meeting.
4To toughen someone up by putting them through hard training or demanding work; a somewhat old-fashioned usage heard in sports and workplaces where seniors drill juniors.
監督は新入部員を一から揉むつもりらしい。
The coach apparently intends to drill the new club members from the ground up.
「うちで一年みっちり揉んでやる」と社長に言われた。
The president told me, 「We'll put you through a solid year of training here.」
5To be jostled, tossed or shaken about — by a crowd, by waves or by the wind. Normally used in the passive form もまれる.
毎朝、満員電車にもまれて出勤している。
Every morning I commute to work jostled about in a packed train.
小舟が荒波にもまれて、激しく揺れた。
The little boat was tossed about violently by the rough waves.
初詣の人ごみにもまれて、友達とはぐれてしまった。
I got separated from my friend after being jostled in the New Year's shrine crowd.
6A figurative extension of the previous sense: to be knocked about by the wider world and matured by the hardships and varied experiences it brings. Almost always used in the passive form もまれる, as in 社会にもまれる.
社会にもまれて、彼もずいぶんたくましくなった。
Life out in the world has knocked him into shape; he has become much tougher.
若いうちに世間にもまれておいたほうがいい。
You're better off letting the world knock you about while you're still young.