the young of certain animals, as the bear, lion, or tiger.
a young shark.
a young and inexperienced person, especially a callow youth or young man.
a young person serving as an apprentice.
(initial capital letter) any small, light monoplane with a high wing, a single engine, and an enclosed cabin.
to work as a cub reporter.
(of a female bear, lion, tiger, etc.) to give birth to a cub or cubs.
to hunt fox cubs.
the young of certain animals, such as the lion, bear, etc
a young or inexperienced person
First recorded in 1520–30; perhaps from Scandinavian; compare Old Norse kobbi “young seal,” kubbr “stump,” hence, “short, thick-set person”
A cub is a baby animal. A mother fox sometimes carries her cub by the scruff of its neck. Use the word cub when you talk about one of a number of meat-eating mammal babies, including bears, foxes, lions, and tigers. While a tiny bear cub looks as adorable and helpless as a stuffed animal, its mother is ferocious and protective of her cubs. In the old days, people also called a young, immature boy a cub — today, a human cub is more likely to be a junior Boy Scout — a Cub Scout.
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
In my heart, I have always been a Cub, and I can’t wait to see Cubs fans again.”
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 19, 2024
“He has no experience leading an organization, no less a Cub Scout pack,” Brunner said.
From Salon • Nov. 18, 2024
The first iteration of Cub Your Enthusiasm concluded in 2011, but the series resumed six years later.
From BBC • Apr. 8, 2024
Blame was quickly assigned when the Cub master looked around the campfire and I was the only one just sitting there with giant eyes and not eating his potato.
From Washington Times • Nov. 23, 2023
He had pudgy, boyish features, thin hair that was so blond it was almost white, and he was full of weird, chipper energy, like an overcaffeinated Cub Scout leader.
From "Hollow City" by Ransom Riggs
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
