grubby
1 Americannoun
plural
grubbiesadjective
-
dirty; slovenly
-
mean; beggarly
-
infested with grubs
Other Word Forms
- grubbily adverb
- grubbiness noun
Etymology
Origin of grubby1
First recorded in 1605–15; grub + -y 1
Origin of grubby2
Origin uncertain
Explanation
Grubby things are really dirty, like your little sister's grubby hands after she's spent an afternoon making mud pies. Have you ever seen a little kid eat a chocolate ice cream cone on a hot day? Picture the kid's face covered in chocolate and you'll have a good idea of what grubby means! This adjective dates back to the mid-19th century, from grub, which means "insect larva" and which was once colloquially used to mean "dirty child."
Vocabulary lists containing grubby
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
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Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
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The Magician's Nephew
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
In Mohit’s telling, Laxman seems merely grubby and small-minded.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 11, 2026
For admirers who like their Bard semidivine, it’s unappealing to think of him amid these grubby realities.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 7, 2025
There were a few water taps around the edges but no proper showers and only grubby blankets on the floor.
From BBC • Jul. 29, 2025
But the first time Qualls saw the sorry state of the equipment taken in by Bush — specifically a grubby charbroiler — he was shocked.
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 25, 2024
He looked at the grubby floor, strewn with toilet paper and a few pennies, and tried to think of something else—anything else.
From "Shooting Kabul" by N. H. Senzai
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.
