stub

[ stuhb ]

/ stʌb /

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noun

a short projecting part.

a short remaining piece, as of a pencil, candle, or cigar.

(in a checkbook, receipt book, etc.) the inner end of each leaf, for keeping a record of the content of the part filled out and torn away.

the returned portion of a ticket.

the end of a fallen tree, shrub, or plant left fixed in the ground; stump.

something having a short, blunt shape, especially a short-pointed, blunt pen.

stub nail.

something having the look of incomplete or stunted growth, as a horn of an animal.

Bridge. a part-score.

verb (used with object), stubbed, stub·bing.

to strike accidentally against a projecting object: I stubbed my toe against the step.

to extinguish the burning end of (a cigarette or cigar) by crushing it against a solid object (often followed by out): He stubbed out the cigarette in the ashtray.

to clear of stubs, as land.

to dig up by the roots; grub up (roots).

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Origin of stub

First recorded before 1000; Middle English noun stubb(e), Old English stybb, stubb, stebb “tree stump”; cognate with Middle Low German, Middle Dutch stubbe, Old Norse stubbi; akin to Old Norse stūfr “stump”; the verb is derivative of the noun

OTHER WORDS FROM stub

stubber, noun

Words nearby stub

St. Thomas, Stu, Stuart, Stuart, Gilbert, Stuarts, stub, stub axle, stubbed, Stubbies, stubble, stubbled

Other definitions for stub (2 of 2)

stub²

[ stuhb ]

/ stʌb /

adjective

stocky; squat.

Origin of stub

First recorded in 1705–15; special use of stub¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use stub in a sentence

When the sensor detects movement in a dark room, it will light up so you don’t stub your toe in the middle of the night.
Best desk lamps to stay productive in 2021|Jen McCaffery|August 24, 2021|Popular-Science
Either stubbing your toe or appearing through the grass at about chest height, these walls direct and disrupt your path.
How geological research has upended our understanding of historical African farming|Mary Evans|May 29, 2021|Quartz
Without it we wouldn’t know if we stubbed our toes or burned our skin.
Let’s learn about touch|Bethany Brookshire|May 25, 2021|Science News For Students
The audit also found the company paid some employees in cash with handmade receipts for which it couldn’t provide stubs.
Wage Theft Is Common for Low-Level Workers, and Officials Are Starting to Take Notice|Jesse Marx and Maya Srikrishnan|May 19, 2021|Voice of San Diego

I was actually going through check stubs last night and I was going through old paperwork, and I found a bunch of old check stubs from my job and I’m like, “Wow.”
The Man Behind the Money Moniker: Gabriel Iglesias!|Isabelle Lee|April 21, 2021|Ozy
I felt there were a lot of ways that I could spend the stub end of my life cycle that were more productive.
James Cameron Dives into the Ocean's Abyss|Andrew Romano|July 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Instead, they were forced to compromise by having him stub out a cigarette.
From ‘American Hustle’ to ‘Saving Mr. Banks,’ Why Is Hollywood Hooked On Embellishing the Truth?|Marina Watts, Marlow Stern|January 8, 2014|DAILY BEAST
What did you do—go through his wastebasket and find his pay stub?
The Supreme Court's Cluelessness on Gender Bias|Leslie Bennetts|June 22, 2011|DAILY BEAST
Halfway down the hill one of her skis must have struck somethingperhaps the stub of a bush sticking out of the snow.
The Girls of Central High on the Stage|Gertrude W. Morrison
With this he severed clean the broken half of the boom, tying the ends of the rigging to the short stub that was left.
The Rival Campers|Ruel Perley Smith
The last sight we have of him is as he violently resists a grown-up sister who is trying to take away the stub!
Round the Wonderful World|G. E. Mitton
He wrote for a few seconds, tore the check from the stub, and handed it to Joyce.
The Highgrader|William MacLeod Raine
Then, if you happen to stub your toe over some useful gadget, they increase your pay.
Islands of Space|John W Campbell

British Dictionary definitions for stub

stub

/ (stʌb) /

noun

a short piece remaining after something has been cut, removed, etca cigar stub

the residual piece or section of a receipt, ticket, cheque, etc

US and Canadian the part of a cheque, postal order, receipt, etc, detached and retained as a record of the transactionAlso called (in Britain) counterfoil

any short projection or blunted end

the stump of a tree or plant

verb stubs, stubbing or stubbed (tr)

to strike (one's toe, foot, etc) painfully against a hard surface

(usually foll by out) to extinguish (a cigarette or cigar) by pressing the end against a surface

to clear (land) of stubs

to dig up (the roots) of (a tree or bush)

Word Origin for stub

Old English stubb; related to Old Norse stubbi, Middle Dutch stubbe, Greek stupos stem, stump

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

stub

Origin of stub

OTHER WORDS FROM stub

Words nearby stub

Other definitions for stub (2 of 2)

Origin of stub

Words related to stub

How to use stub in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for stub

Word Origin for stub