grub

[ gruhb ]
See synonyms for grub on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. the thick-bodied, sluggish larva of several insects, as of a scarab beetle.

  2. a dull, plodding person; drudge.

  1. an unkempt person.

  2. Slang. food; victuals.

  3. any remaining roots or stumps after cutting vegetation to clear land for farming.

verb (used with object),grubbed, grub·bing.
  1. to dig; clear of roots, stumps, etc.

  2. to dig up by the roots; uproot (often followed by up or out).

  1. Slang. to supply with food; feed.

  2. Slang. to scrounge: to grub a cigarette.

verb (used without object),grubbed, grub·bing.
  1. to dig; search by or as if by digging: We grubbed through piles of old junk to find the deed.

  2. to lead a laborious or groveling life; drudge: It's wonderful to have money after having to grub for so many years.

  1. to engage in laborious study.

  2. Slang. to eat; take food.

Origin of grub

1
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English grubbe (noun), grubben (verb); akin to Old High German grubilōn “to dig,” German grübeln “to rack (the brain),” Old Norse gryfia “hole, pit”; see grave1, groove

word story For grub

The English noun grub, first recorded in the 15th century with the meaning “larva of an insect,” derives from the verb. The Middle English verb grubben, grobben “to dig the earth (with a tool)” comes from an unrecorded Old English verb grybban, grubbian and is akin to Gothic graban “to dig,” Old High German grubilōn “to dig, search for,” Middle Dutch grobben, and Dutch grobbelen “to root about, feel about for something.”
The Germanic words all derive from the Germanic root grab- “to dig, bury, scratch,” source of the English noun grave “excavation in the earth for burial of a body” and the verb grave “to carve or sculpt.”
The “food, victuals” slang meaning of grub dates from the mid-17th century. The slang meaning “to beg or scrounge” dates from the late 19th century.

Other words from grub

  • grubber, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use grub in a sentence

  • And it was not in the least like the scratching of a hen, looking for grubs and worms.

    The Tale of Chirpy Cricket | Arthur Scott Bailey
  • The change of diet, complete though it is, has in no way affected the appetite of the Scolia-grubs.

    More Hunting Wasps | J. Henri Fabre
  • Under these conditions my Scolia-grubs contrive at most to upholster their little pit with a thick down of reddish silk.

    More Hunting Wasps | J. Henri Fabre
  • The grubs attack it without hesitation and consume it with every appearance of the usual appetite.

    More Hunting Wasps | J. Henri Fabre
  • The honey, I say, would imperil the grubs' lives, The Bee must therefore first be made to disgorge.

    More Hunting Wasps | J. Henri Fabre

British Dictionary definitions for grub

grub

/ (ɡrʌb) /


verbgrubs, grubbing or grubbed
  1. (when tr, often foll by up or out) to search for and pull up (roots, stumps, etc) by digging in the ground

  2. to dig up the surface of (ground, soil, etc), esp to clear away roots, stumps, etc

  1. (intr; often foll by in or among) to search carefully

  2. (intr) to work unceasingly, esp at a dull task or research

  3. slang to provide (a person) with food or (of a person) to take food

  4. (tr) slang, mainly US to scrounge: to grub a cigarette

noun
  1. the short legless larva of certain insects, esp beetles

  2. slang food; victuals

  1. a person who works hard, esp in a dull plodding way

  2. British informal a dirty child

Origin of grub

1
C13: of Germanic origin; compare Old High German grubilōn to dig, German grübeln to rack one's brain, Middle Dutch grobben to scrape together; see grave ³, groove

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012