scrubby

adjective

scrub·​by ˈskrə-bē 

scrubbier; scrubbiest

1

: inferior in size or quality : stunted

scrubby cattle

2

: covered with or consisting of scrub

3

: shabby, paltry

Synonyms of scrubby

• dilapidated
• neglected

Examples of scrubby in a Sentence

changed into an old flannel shirt and a scrubby pair of jeans to clean out the garage

Recent Examples on the Web

While much of the Yucatan peninsula is covered by rain forest, the landscape designers improved on nature here creating a jungle that is less scrubby than the real thing and instead planted with dramatic Mexican fan palms and other tropical trees that create a solid green wall. —John Newton, Condé Nast Traveler, 5 Feb. 2026

Banks are fringed with grasses and scrubby trees, as colorful hills slant down to the water. —Roger Naylor, AZCentral.com, 29 Jan. 2026

The landscape of Rapa Nui probably never incorporated the sort of primeval forest of palm trees imagined in popular accounts, Pitts writes, but was more mixed, and scrubbier, with no one species of charismatic megaflora dominating. —Margaret Talbot, New Yorker, 26 Jan. 2026

Something about the slightly sticky, scrubby texture of a dryer sheet makes quick work of dusting. —Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 15 Jan. 2026

Word History

Etymology

scrub entry 1

First Known Use

1591, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for scrubby

• chubby
• cubby
• grubby
• hubby
• shrubby
• stubby
• tubby

Kids Definition

scrubby

adjective

scrub·​by ˈskrəb-ē 

scrubbier; scrubbiest

1

: of small size or poor quality : stunted

scrubby cattle

2

: covered with or consisting of scrub

a scrubby hill