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2
as in root
the central part or aspect of something under consideration
the nub of the argument is that the intelligence agencies failed the country
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of nub
If not for the rhythmic motion of the stylus’s nub against the touch screen, he could have been mistaken for someone meditating.
—
Matt Alt, New Yorker, 25 Aug. 2025
These caterpillars typically riddle plant leaves with lacy holes or chew entire leaves down to nubs.
—Lauren Landers, Better Homes & Gardens, 25 June 2025
Eventually, just like a real pencil, the sculpture will be just a nub with an eraser—and both the Higgins family and Ingvoldstad are okay with that.
—Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 11 June 2025
The grisly damage included fingers on his right hand that had been reduced to nubs.
—Théoden Janes, Charlotte Observer, 27 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for nub
Matt Alt, New Yorker, 25 Aug. 2025
These caterpillars typically riddle plant leaves with lacy holes or chew entire leaves down to nubs.
—Lauren Landers, Better Homes & Gardens, 25 June 2025
Eventually, just like a real pencil, the sculpture will be just a nub with an eraser—and both the Higgins family and Ingvoldstad are okay with that.
—Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 11 June 2025
The grisly damage included fingers on his right hand that had been reduced to nubs.
—Théoden Janes, Charlotte Observer, 27 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for nub
Recent Examples of Synonyms for nub
Noun
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Work continues to crack down on bots Work continues still to crack down on bots buying up chunks of tickets.—
Arpan Lobo,
Freep.com,
8 Sep. 2025
-
Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski are both set to miss a significant chunk of the season, while Dominic Solanke’s ankle injury is another cause for concern.—
James McNicholas,
New York Times,
8 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
For example, most types of turfgrass have short roots, and soil samples from lawns only need to be dug to a depth of 4 inches.—
Lauren Landers,
Better Homes & Gardens,
7 Sep. 2025
-
The roots of my family tree are firmly established in the soil of Great Britain.—
Elizabeth Bass Parman,
PEOPLE,
7 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Their small bodies are tricky to differentiate from pond scum or sticky clumps of algae in the dark.—
Sophie Hartley,
IndyStar,
9 Sep. 2025
-
One study uses a new astrophysical computer simulation that models turbulence within the cloud, causing fragmentation into smaller, star-forming clumps.—
Luke Keller,
Space.com,
7 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Understanding these dynamics is a key piece in the puzzle of planet formation, as dust settles into larger layers including pebbles and rocks, and eventually planetary cores.—
Kenna Hughes-Castleberry,
Space.com,
4 Sep. 2025
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Google is suffering outages in multiple countries, with core services such as Gmail and YouTube experiencing issues, the tracking website DownDetector reported.—
Robert Birsel,
MSNBC Newsweek,
4 Sep. 2025
Noun
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This yuckster attitude was apparently contagious, because Gray herself got in on the act on a day in which she was scheduled to kiss the young hunk Christopher Atkins, who had a recurring role for one season as a camp counselor.—
Jordan Hoffman,
Entertainment Weekly,
7 Sep. 2025
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But inside, slabs of colored glass, hunks of polished resin, and sundry material experiments gleam like mirages in the sunlight that streams in from the ceiling and windows.—
Hannah Martin,
Architectural Digest,
4 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
These metres break you down to your essence.—
George Caulkin,
New York Times,
6 Sep. 2025
-
The bad news is that time is of the essence.—
Daniel Klein,
Mercury News,
6 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
The boy had a wad of cash in his hand, which De Jager accepted without counting, still stunned.—
Jordan Greene,
People.com,
28 Aug. 2025
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The New York Times reports that more associates of Mayor Eric Adams are likely to face corruption charges — and that was before an explosive report in The CITY that an Adams campaign advisor tried to give a reporter a wad of cash stuffed inside a bag of potato chips.—
Liz Hoffman,
semafor.com,
21 Aug. 2025
Noun
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Kahan, known for his raw anthems, offers more insight into the inner workings of his heart in his lyrics than in public comments.—
Anna Kaufman,
USA Today,
4 Sep. 2025
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This isn’t the first study to suggest the importance of breakfast for living a long life—research has shown that regularly eating a morning meal is linked with lower overall and heart-related mortality (and that bypassing it can up your heart-disease risk).—
Erica Sloan,
SELF,
4 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Nub.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/nub. Accessed 10 Sep. 2025.
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