grub

¹grub

verb \ˈgrəb\

grubbedgrub·bing

Definition of GRUB

transitive verb

1

: to clear by digging up roots and stumps

2

: to dig up by or as if by the roots

intransitive verb

1

a : to dig in the ground especially for something that is difficult to find or extract

b : to search about <grubbed in the countryside for food — Lamp>

2

: toil, drudge <grubbing along at newspaper jobs — Walter Kirn>

— grub·ber noun

Examples of GRUB

1. Everyone was grubbing for whatever food they could find.
2. students grubbing for better grades

Origin of GRUB

Middle English grubben; akin to Old English grafan to dig — more at grave

First Known Use: 14th century

Related to GRUB

Synonyms

bang away, beaver (away), dig (away), drudge, endeavor, fag, labor, hump, hustle, moil, peg (away), plod, plow, plug, slave, slog, strain, strive, struggle, sweat, toil, travail, tug, work

Related Words

apply (oneself), buckle (down), dig in, hammer (away), knuckle down, pitch in; attack, drive; essay, try; exercise, exert, overexert, overwork; eke out, grind (out), put out, scrabble, scratch; trudge, wade

Near Antonyms

break, ease (up), let up, slacken; bum, chill, dally, dillydally, footle, goldbrick, goof (off), hack (around), hang (around or out), idle, laze, loaf, lounge, shirk, slack (off), veg out; bask, loll, relax, repose, rest, unwind; dabble, doodle, fool around, fribble, goof (around), hang, hang about [British], mess around, monkey (around), play, potter (around), putter (around), trifle

Rhymes with GRUB

bub, blub, chub, club, cub, drub, dub, flub, hub, nub, pub, rub, schlub, scrub, shrub, slub, snub, stub, sub, tub

²grub

noun

Definition of GRUB

1

: a soft thick wormlike larva of an insect (as a beetle)

2

a : one who does menial work : drudge

b : a slovenly person

3

: food

Examples of GRUB

1. Let's go get some grub.
2. <after the game, we headed to the diner for some hearty grub>

Origin of GRUB

Middle English grubbe, from grubben

First Known Use: 15th century

Related to GRUB

Synonyms

bread, chow, chuck [chiefly West], comestibles, eatables, eats, edibles, fare, foodstuffs, food, meat, provender, provisions, table, tucker [chiefly Australian], viands, victuals, vittles

Related Words

commissary, rations, supplies; aliment, nutriment; diet, nourishment, nurture, sustenance; mess, pap; ensilage, feed, fodder, forage, silage, slop, swill; feast, meal, refreshments, regale, repast, spread; board; dish, plate, platter, serving; finger food, natural food

Near Antonyms

bane, poison, toxin, venom

Other Insect Terms

drone, entomology, gadfly, pismire, proboscis, vespine

grub

noun \ˈgrəb\   (Medical Dictionary)

Medical Definition of GRUB

: a soft thick wormlike larva of an insect