GRUBBING Synonyms: 85 Similar and Opposite Words

grubbing

verb

present participle of grub

as in laboring

to devote serious and sustained effort grubbing away at the yard work before the first snow of the season

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Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of grubbing Double-bass glissandos hint at hands grubbing in the earth, while abrupt moments of concerted action—notably, an accordion wheezing out an F-sharp-minor chord—suggest flickering signals and transmissions. — Alex Ross, New Yorker, 18 May 2026 Released in 1958, Attack told of a wealthy heiress, fresh from a stint at a mental institution, who is turned into a giantess and then deals with her philandering husband and his no-good, money-grubbing floozy. — Borys Kit, HollywoodReporter, 9 Jan. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for grubbing

Verb

In line with the great tech selloff over AI spending fears, Capgemini’s share price has been laboring.

— Kamal Ahmed, Fortune, 16 Sep. 2026
While practicing for a sixth straight day, laboring in a heat index pushing 90 degrees, the Chiefs were bound to be a bit ill-mannered.

— Blair Kerkhoff, Kansas City Star, 8 Aug. 2026

Definition of laboring

Verb

Rome’s deputy mayor for sustainable mobility and transport, Eugenio Patanè, is striving to restore order and reduce traffic — and not just golf carts.

— ABC News, ABC News, 4 Sep. 2026
OpenAI is striving to regain the initiative in the AI race against a backdrop of growing anxiety from experts, tech leaders, and the public over the risks of frontier AI.

— Brendan Ruberry, semafor.com, 3 Sep. 2026

Definition of striving

Verb

The play becomes an intellectual exercise — often a technically compelling one, and one that thankfully observes the comedy of Chekhov’s struggling souls as much as their tragedy.

— Sara Holdren, Vulture, 18 Sep. 2026
But Trumpism is also what Gramsci called a morbid symptom of the interregnum, an expression of a country riven by political polarization and by economic inequity, and struggling to come to terms with the waning of its singular status.

— Ishaan Tharoor, New Yorker, 17 Sep. 2026

Definition of struggling

Verb

Hester pointed to test scores as a sign the school choice program is working.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 16 Sep. 2026
Under the contract, COnovate will continue scaling US production while working toward commercial qualification of the material.

— Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 16 Sep. 2026