Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- intransitive verb To dig up by or as if by the roots.
- intransitive verb To clear of roots and stumps by digging.
- intransitive verb Slang To obtain by importunity.
- intransitive verb To dig in the earth.
- intransitive verb To search laboriously by or as if by digging; rummage.
- intransitive verb To toil arduously; drudge.
- noun The thick wormlike larva of certain beetles and other insects.
- noun A drudge.
- noun Slang Food.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun In cricket, a ball bowled along the ground. Also called, in the slang of cricket, sneaker and daisy-cutter.
- noun The larva of an insect; especially, the larva of a beetle: as, the white-grub (the larva of Lachnosterna fusca). Also
grubworm . - noun A short thick man; a dwarf: in contempt.
- noun Something to eat; victuals; a provision of food (as the product of grubbing or hard work).
- To dig in or under the ground; hence, to work hard in any way; especially, to make laborious research; search or study closely.
- To eat; take a meal: as, it is time to grub.
- To dig; dig up by the roots: frequently followed by up or out: as, to
grub up shrubs or weeds. - To supply with food; provide with victuals.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- transitive verb To dig; to dig up by the roots; to root out by digging; -- followed by up.
- transitive verb Slang To supply with food.
- noun (Zoöl.) The larva of an insect, especially of a beetle; -- called also
grubworm . See Illust. of Goldsmith beetle, undergoldsmith . - noun obsolete A short, thick man; a dwarf.
- noun Slang Victuals; food.
- noun a kind of mattock used in grubbing up roots, etc.
- noun Same as
Grub hook (below ). - noun a heavy hoe for grubbing.
- noun a plowlike implement for uprooting stumps, breaking roots, etc.
- noun a handsaw used for sawing marble.
- noun a street in London (now called
Milton Street ), described by Dr. Johnson as “much inhabited by writers of small histories, dictionaries, and temporary poems, whence any mean production is calledgrubstreet .” As an adjective, suitable to, or resembling the production of, Grub Street. - intransitive verb To dig in or under the ground, generally for an object that is difficult to reach or extricate; to be occupied in digging.
- intransitive verb To drudge; to do menial work.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun countable An
immature stage in thelife cycle of aninsect ; alarva . - noun uncountable, slang
Food . - noun obsolete A short, thick man; a
dwarf . - verb To
scavenge or in some wayscrounge , typically for food.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- verb ask for and get free; be a parasite
- noun informal terms for a meal
- verb search about busily
- noun a soft thick wormlike larva of certain beetles and other insects
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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I use the term grub in its broadest and most comprehensive sense.
Remarks Bill Nye 1873
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Any my wife can't stop complaining about what I call my grub scrubs: an admittedly ill-fitting pair of shorts that are held together with a safety pin - three actually clipped together - a pair of purple, grass-stained Chuck Taylors and a wife-beater that no longer completely covers my mid-section.
Lawrence Shulruff: Recessionary Crisis? How about mid-life crisis in a recession? Lawrence Shulruff 2010
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Variety in the grub is a welcome to the men as nuggets.
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"It's food -- what you call grub," explained Hassan proudly.
Afterwards Kathlyn Rhodes
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Variety in the grub is a welcome to the men as nuggets.
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"But keepin 'grub back an hour ain't goin' to hurt none, I reckon."
All Gold Cañon 2010
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I can take my medicine an 'lick the spoon, but three days' grub is drawin 'it a shade fine, that's all, an' I hereby register my kick.
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"But keepin 'grub back an hour ain't goin' to hurt none, I reckon."
All Gold Canon 2010
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"Remember, my last bit of grub is yours," he reassured her, still holding her hand.
CHAPTER I 2010
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Oh, I'm Del Bishop, pocket-miner; and if ever we run across each other, remember I'd give you the last shirt -- I mean, remember my last bit of grub is yours.
CHAPTER I 2010
yarb commented on the word grub
"Grub, ho!" now cried the landlord, flinging open a door, and in we went to breakfast.
- Melville, Moby-Dick, ch. 5
July 23, 2008
bilby commented on the word grub
To: Dr., et al.
Re: Grub
Ma had a hamburger
Later, Dot.
October 18, 2008
Telofy commented on the word grub
My bootloader. :-)
October 19, 2008
ruzuzu commented on the word grub
"In cricket, a ball bowled along the ground. Also called, in the slang of cricket, sneaker and daisy-cutter." --CD&C
January 30, 2012