Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Showing results for grubby. Search instead for grubbily.
Synonyms

grubby

1 American  
[gruhb-ee] / ˈgrʌb i /

adjective

grubbier, grubbiest

  1. dirty; slovenly.

    children with grubby faces and sad eyes.
    Synonyms:
    bedraggled, filthy, messy, unkempt, grimy

  2. infested with or affected by grubs or larvae.

  3. contemptible.

    grubby political tricks.
grubby 2 American  
[gruhb-ee] / ˈgrʌb i /

noun

plural

grubbies

  1. a small sculpin, Myxocephalus aenaeus, inhabiting waters off the coast of New England.

grubby British  
/ ˈɡrʌbɪ /

adjective

  1. dirty; slovenly

  2. mean; beggarly

  3. infested with grubs

"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

Other Word Forms

  • grubbily adverb
  • grubbiness noun

Etymology

Origin of grubby1

First recorded in 1605–15; grub + -y 1

Origin of grubby2

Origin uncertain

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

"After a really busy summer the city can look a bit grubby and that's just because we don't have the money to keep it to a good standard," he said.

From BBC • Oct. 1, 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

A cold wind blows through me like I’m an empty room and I suddenly know everything’s going to be terrible and I’m doomed; not only me, but the whole gloomy grubby gray world too.

From "I'll Give You the Sun" by Jandy Nelson

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.