nub
Americannoun
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nubs
plural
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the point, gist, or heart of something.
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a knob or protuberance.
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a lump or small piece.
a nub of coal; a nub of pencil.
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a small mass of fibers produced on a card, dyed brilliant colors, and introduced into yarn during the spinning process.
noun
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a small lump or protuberance
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a small piece or chunk
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the point or gist
the nub of a story
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a small fibrous knot in yarn
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of nub
1585–95; < Low German, Middle Low German knubbe; cf. knob
Explanation
A nub is a little piece of something, especially one that sticks out. The raised rubber buttons on your TV remote control are nubs. Tiny lumps or bits are nubs, like the nubs on tree branches that will become buds in the spring, or the nubs on a crocheted blanket, little woven bumps. Another kind of nub is the heart or essence of something: one incriminating piece of evidence might be the nub of a judge's decision in a case. The "lump" meaning is older, stemming from knob, while the "essence" meaning dates from the nineteenth century.
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.
See Examples For:
There lies the nub of the dilemma for Qatar and the five other Gulf states facing the brunt of the backlash from a war they tried to avert through diplomacy.
From Salon ● Mar. 21, 2026
But voices were growing for stronger action, saying the monarch was failing to get at the nub of the problem: in the public’s eye, the disgraced prince continues to live…well, like a prince.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2025
When resting, it appears as a small white nub between their eyes, but when raised, it becomes a hooked, barbed organ covered in teeth.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 16, 2025
But since India reached the knock-out stage in most tournaments, it would be fair to say that the nub of the problem lies elsewhere.
From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2023
She reaches out with her good hand to take it, and I guess out a habit, her nub reach out too.
From "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett
The worn nubs of the first wharf can still be seen at times in low tide, and other parts of the structure have managed to survive the test of time.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 26, 2024
She would run her fingers along the pointed nubs of the beans — almost like someone would press prayer beads between their fingertips — and stare at the black-eyed Susans coming up in her backyard.
From Salon ● Sep. 4, 2023
Huge trees lay on the ground, their stumps reduced to nubs.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 2, 2023
Horns are permanent cores of bone encased in sheaths of keratin, while antlers are bones that grow and are shed seasonally, starting as velvety nubs then sprouting into sharp branches.
From New York Times ● Jun. 21, 2022
I was plagued by wake-up-screaming nightmares so bad that I had to wear a mouth guard to keep from grinding my teeth into nubs as I slept.
From "Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children" 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.
