cub

¹

[ kuhb ]

noun

1. the young of certain animals, as the bear, lion, or tiger.
2. a young shark.
3. a young and inexperienced person, especially a callow youth or young man.
4. a young person serving as an apprentice.
5. cub reporter.
6. cub scout.
7. (initial capital letter) Aeronautics, Trademark. any small, light monoplane with a high wing, a single engine, and an enclosed cabin.

verb (used without object)

, cubbed, cub·bing.

1. to work as a cub reporter.
2. (of a female bear, lion, tiger, etc.) to give birth to a cub or cubs.
3. to hunt fox cubs.

cub.

²

abbreviation for

1. cubic.

Cub

¹

/ kʌb /

noun

1. See Cub Scout
   short for Cub Scout

cub

²

/ kʌb /

noun

1. the young of certain animals, such as the lion, bear, etc
2. a young or inexperienced person

verb

1. to give birth to (cubs)

Derived Forms

• ˈcubbishly, adverb
• ˈcubbish, adjective

Other Words From

• cubbish adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of cub¹

First recorded in 1520–30; perhaps from Scandinavian; compare Old Norse kobbi “young seal,” kubbr “stump,” hence, “short, thick-set person”

Word History and Origins

Origin of cub¹

C16: perhaps from Old Norse kubbi young seal; see cob ¹

Example Sentences

Straight people have discovered, and co-opted, the gay “bear” and “cub.”

From The Daily Beast

The end is here, but for cub detective Henry Palace, there is still one more case to solve—that of his missing sister.

From The Daily Beast

Lewis waves at Tony Orion, a nominee up for Best Bear/Cub whose biceps have stretched his black mesh jersey to a shine.

From The Daily Beast

The Toronto Zoo polar bear cub has been a fixture of this video blog since he first graced the world with his adorable presence.

From The Daily Beast

From Adele Dazeem to the cutest polar bear cub in the world, take a look at this week's best viral videos.

From The Daily Beast

His lordship would not intervene; he swore he hoped the cub would be flayed alive by Wilding.

From Project Gutenberg

The woman distrusts me and she has sent for this insolent cub lawyer—Washburn, his name is.

From Project Gutenberg

The boys noticed that one of the cubs was dark brown like the mother, while the other was a cinnamon cub.

From Project Gutenberg

I say, you young cub down there,” shouted the skipper to him from the hatchway, “come up and swab this deck.

From Project Gutenberg

The next moment a savage roar sounded close at hand, and he saw the mother bear running toward the wounded cub.

From Project Gutenberg