stubble

[ stuhb-uh l ]

/ ˈstʌb əl /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR stubble ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

Usually stubbles. the stumps of grain and other stalks left in the ground when the crop is cut.

such stumps collectively.

any short, rough growth, as of beard.

Nearby words

stub, stub axle, stub nail, stubbed, stubbies, stubble, stubble-jumper, stubbled, stubborn, stubborn as a mule, stubbs

Origin of stubble

1250–1300; Middle English stuble < Old French estuble < Vulgar Latin *stupula, Latin stipula stipule

Related forms

stub·bled, stub·bly, adjectiveun·stub·bled, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for stubble

There was lots of heavy makeup,” Sheppard says, “to cover up the stubble.
‘Shit Girls Say’: Kyle Humphrey and Graydon Sheppard Spin Book From Meme|Anna Klassen|September 18, 2012|DAILY BEAST
He dips his brush into the green paint and giggles, saying that my stubble makes this harder.
Macaulay Culkin’s Life After Fame|Ramin Setoodeh|June 19, 2012|DAILY BEAST
He compliments us on our stubble, and we are pleased by this.
Oscars 2011: Red Carpet and Vanity Fair Party Photos|Jacob Bernstein|February 27, 2011|DAILY BEAST
Jim Jones is a Harlem rapper with lots of stubble and sleepy eyes.
'What Up, My Obama?'|Touré|November 20, 2008|DAILY BEAST

It will all turn to stubble and sapless rigidity before his eyes.
How to Observe|Harriet Martineau
He had already put one of the young mice in his trousers pocket when the mother reappeared out of the stubble beside the nest.
Birds and Nature Vol. 9 No. 5 [May 1901]|Various
He scratched his stubble of hair, and contemplatively traced a crimson scar with his forefinger.
The Cruise of the Shining Light|Norman Duncan
His clothes were rags, upon his face there was a stubble of unshaven red, which made the pallor about his eyes more pronounced.
Gunman's Reckoning|Max Brand
Sheep ran across the stubble, a camel got up, and Kit saw a small hole in the tent.
Kit Musgrave's Luck|Harold Bindloss

British Dictionary definitions for stubble

stubble

/ (ˈstʌbəl) /

noun

the stubs of stalks left in a field where a crop has been cut and harvested
(as modifier)a stubble field

any bristly growth or surface

Derived Forms

stubbly, adjective

Word Origin for stubble

C13: from Old French estuble, from Latin stupula, variant of stipula stalk, stem, stubble

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