stub

noun

\ ˈstəb

Definition of stub

(Entry 1 of 2)

1a : stump sense 2

b : a short piece remaining on a stem or trunk where a branch has been lost

2 : something made or worn to a short or blunt shape especially : a pen with a short blunt nib

3 : a short blunt part left after a larger part has been broken off or used up a pencil stub

4 : something cut short or stunted

5a : a small part of a leaf (as of a checkbook) attached to the spine for memoranda of the contents of the part torn away

b : the part of a ticket returned to the user

stub

verb

stubbed; stubbing

Definition of stub (Entry 2 of 2)

transitive verb

1a : to grub up by the roots

b : to clear (land) by grubbing out rooted growth

c : to hew or cut down (a tree) close to the ground

2 : to extinguish (something, such as a cigarette) by crushing

3 : to strike (one's foot or toe) against an object

Synonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about stub

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Examples of stub in a Sentence

Noun

Hold onto your ticket stub in case you leave the theater and want to come back in again. an ashtray full of cigarette stubs

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

Healey’s investigation found that Skyline didn’t make timely payments of more than $64,000 in wages to 106 employees, failed to provide pay stubs to 369 employees, and didn’t furnish payroll records requested by investigators. — Robert Weisman, BostonGlobe.com, "Owners of five shuttered South Coast nursing homes cited for wage theft," 26 June 2019 Playlists and bookstore receipts and theater stubs and archive call slips seem to spill from his pockets. — Dwight Garner, New York Times, "Scorching, Sophisticated New Work From Two of America’s Leading Poets," 16 Apr. 2018 My only hoarding vice is saving birthday cards, letters, and ticket stubs that live in disorganized splendor in my night table drawer. — Lonnie Firestone, Glamour, "It Took a Fire in My Building to Understand Marie Kondo's Method," 15 Jan. 2019 That would leave a $100 billion stub that included the plane-leasing unit and some industrial leasing operations meant to boost GE’s power and oil-and-gas businesses. — Thomas Gryta And Ted Mann, WSJ, "GE Powered the American Century—Then It Burned Out," 14 Dec. 2018 The stub of GE Capital was all that remained unresolved. — Thomas Gryta And Ted Mann, WSJ, "GE Powered the American Century—Then It Burned Out," 14 Dec. 2018 Back in 2009, the Wikipedia entry on Pohick Church was what editors call a stub, with only rudimentary information. — Stephen Harrison, The Seattle Times, "Wikipedia’s MVP: One volunteer’s endless affection for information," 2 Oct. 2018 MoviePass is also rescinding other cost-cutting measures, including surcharges for popular movies and show times and requirements to send photographs of ticket stubs to combat fraud. — Anick Jesdanun, The Seattle Times, "No price hike, but new caps on MoviePass discount tix plan," 7 Aug. 2018 On one table are Depression-era objects from Rabbithole Springs, including bottle glass and pencil stubs. — Jonathon Keats, Discover Magazine, "The Vanishing City," 13 Aug. 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

No doubt last week’s announcement has stubbed out any future efforts to continue. — Sunset, "Going to Disney? Leave the Juul, the Double-Wide Bugaboo, and Your Dry Ice at Home," 22 Jan. 2018 Instead of continuing to flourish, the Brewers stubbed their toes in a big way, dropping two of three over the weekend at Guaranteed Rate Field to one of the worst teams in the majors. — Tom Haudricourt, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "White Sox 6, Brewers 1: String of winning series ends at six as bats go quiet in Chicago," 3 June 2018 Most people have experienced the painful, infuriating misfortune of stubbing a toe. — Carolyn L. Todd, SELF, "This Is Why Stubbing Your Toe Hurts So Much," 17 Apr. 2018 Lewis has had a gun pointed at him three times and a cigarette stubbed out on his forehead once. — Todd C. Frankel, chicagotribune.com, "Riding with the repo man: as auto loan defaults rise, car repossessions skyrocket," 16 May 2018 Our knees stubbed into the concrete, chipping away at our morale. — Mike Kotsopoulos, BostonGlobe.com, "Here’s a runner’s perspective on the Boston Marathon," 16 Apr. 2018 There is a palpable excitement, a few potential stars in the making, and the bathroom doorway in my room in the media village is equipped with the latest toe-stubbing technology. — Michael Rosenberg, SI.com, "Welcome to the Olympics, as Complicated and Controversial as Ever," 9 Feb. 2018 Still, Purdue needs to get itself off the mat and get right again after stubbing its toe earlier this month. — Nick Baumgardner, Detroit Free Press, "2018 Big Ten tournament predictions: Who's going to win it all?," 28 Feb. 2018 The Frogs started 7-0 before stubbing a toe at Iowa State to start a 3-3 stretch that included two losses to Oklahoma, one in the league championship game. — Carlos Mendez, star-telegram, "Horned Frogs arrive in San Antonio with ‘one more job’ to do," 23 Dec. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'stub.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.