stubble
Americannoun
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Usually stubbles. the stumps of grain and other stalks left in the ground when the crop is cut.
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such stumps collectively.
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any short, rough growth, as of beard.
noun
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the stubs of stalks left in a field where a crop has been cut and harvested
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( as modifier )
a stubble field
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any bristly growth or surface
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of stubble
1250–1300; Middle English stuble < Old French estuble < Vulgar Latin *stupula, Latin stipula stipule
Explanation
Stubble is the prickly hair that grows back after being shaved. You might find stubble on a man's chin or on a woman's leg. Stubble is a very specific kind of hair: hair that's been shaved but has grown back a little bit after a few days. On a man's face, stubble isn't quite a beard yet: the hair is short. Stubble feels rough, and it can be itchy. Although some men like the stubble look, most men usually go one way or the other: grow out a beard or shave the stubble off. You can also have stubble anywhere hair has been shaved.
Vocabulary lists containing stubble
The Watsons Go to Birmingham
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My Brother Sam is Dead
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The Midwife's Apprentice
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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.
Stubble on his face indicates he must have shaved.
From National Geographic • Feb. 6, 2024
Stubble burning in northern India has long been a major cause of air pollution, but efforts to stop it fail every year.
From BBC • Nov. 29, 2020
The titles that irritated him included “Bunn Wackett Buzzard Stubble and Boot”, apparently a spoof legal firm, which came to be shortened to Bunwackett.
From The Guardian • Oct. 4, 2019
Fearing copyright infringement, the company soon changed the name to Stubble Trimmer, but the device proved unpopular and was quickly discontinued.
From New York Times • Sep. 28, 2011
Stubble was growing on the back of his neck.
From "Genuine Fraud" by E. Lockhart
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.
