1
as in speck
a very small piece
had only a nubbin of crayon left
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in root
the central part or aspect of something under consideration
this nubbin of the intelligence report is the prediction that the country's government will soon fall
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of nubbin
Secchi’s ragù is the opposite of bouncy meat nubbins bobbing in tomato sauce.
—
Chris Morocco, Bon Appetit Magazine, 16 Apr. 2025
Double-tapping the nubbin now pops up a menu with volume and microphone controls and voice typing.
—PCMAG, 17 Jan. 2025
Ground nubbins of paprika, cumin, sage and black pepper that have moldered into flavorless, colored molecules.
—Scott Hocker, theweek, 23 Dec. 2024
Heffernan, a gravely captivating newcomer, wraps each expression and gesture around a hard little nubbin of distrust.
—Justin Chang, The New Yorker, 25 Oct. 2024
Being a bit of a handy man in a fight himself, Father Ryan taught Frankie how to roll with a punch, how to upset a right swing with a left stab to his shoulder, and how to swing in with a right cross to the nubbin of the chin while his man was off keel.
—Westbrook Pegler, New York Daily News, 18 Jan. 2024
That changed at 1:03 a.m. on Dec. 5 when 192 giant lasers at the laboratory’s National Ignition Facility blasted a small cylinder about the size of a pencil eraser that contained a frozen nubbin of hydrogen encased in diamond.
—Kenneth Chang, BostonGlobe.com, 13 Dec. 2022
Chris Morocco, Bon Appetit Magazine, 16 Apr. 2025
Double-tapping the nubbin now pops up a menu with volume and microphone controls and voice typing.
—PCMAG, 17 Jan. 2025
Ground nubbins of paprika, cumin, sage and black pepper that have moldered into flavorless, colored molecules.
—Scott Hocker, theweek, 23 Dec. 2024
Heffernan, a gravely captivating newcomer, wraps each expression and gesture around a hard little nubbin of distrust.
—Justin Chang, The New Yorker, 25 Oct. 2024
Being a bit of a handy man in a fight himself, Father Ryan taught Frankie how to roll with a punch, how to upset a right swing with a left stab to his shoulder, and how to swing in with a right cross to the nubbin of the chin while his man was off keel.
—Westbrook Pegler, New York Daily News, 18 Jan. 2024
That changed at 1:03 a.m. on Dec. 5 when 192 giant lasers at the laboratory’s National Ignition Facility blasted a small cylinder about the size of a pencil eraser that contained a frozen nubbin of hydrogen encased in diamond.
—Kenneth Chang, BostonGlobe.com, 13 Dec. 2022
Recent Examples of Synonyms for nubbin
Noun
-
On a recent day on the river's gravel bank in sight of Denver's skyscrapers, Singel found speck after speck of gold, sucking it out of his pan with an eyedropper.—
Trevor Hughes,
USA Today,
27 Feb. 2026
-
And record-setting inflation that cost the typical family $34,000 in just a speck of time.—
TIME Staff,
Time,
25 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Mulch has many benefits in the garden, like retaining soil moisture, insulating roots, and deterring weeds.—
Brandee Gruener,
Southern Living,
26 Feb. 2026
-
Underneath the broad comedy, the sagging and the seeping, Meat Suit is about that sense of loss — or rather, of constant flux, root-level change that, in truth, is always going on in our physical and ephemeral selves, but that the upending jolt of parenthood brings right to the surface.—
Sara Holdren,
Vulture,
26 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Jimenez created this manicure using a sage green shimmer polish enhanced with delicate silver flecks, giving the shade incredible depth and dimension.—
Kara Jillian Brown,
InStyle,
26 Feb. 2026
-
The bit of glimmer is echoed in subtle flecks on the dancers’ shimmery white unitards.—
Lauren Warnecke,
Chicago Tribune,
20 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Our ambition here is to continue to celebrate the creativity at Burberry’s heart.—
Luke Leitch,
Vogue,
2 Mar. 2026
-
Mojdeh Khaghan, a Jewish-Iranian American who fled Iran with her family in 1979, said her heart bleeds for the Iranian people.—
Anna McAllister,
CBS News,
2 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
That strategic depth was dismantled bit by bit by Israel after the October 7 attacks.—
Abbas Al Lawati,
CNN Money,
1 Mar. 2026
-
Until such a ruling, the debate over the nomenclature of poultry bits will beat on, wings against the current.—
EMILY HEIL THE WASHINGTON POST,
Arkansas Online,
1 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Upstairs, corridors wrap around a striking double-height bamboo atrium—real moso bamboo is planted at the building's core.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
27 Feb. 2026
-
Aurélien has built its reputation by concentrating on the core of the male wardrobe.—
Robb Report Studio,
Robb Report,
26 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
From moldy squash to particles in ice, health inspectors in Missouri and Kansas found numerous violations at Kansas City-area restaurants last week.—
Eleanor Nash,
Kansas City Star,
25 Feb. 2026
-
Use the range hood during cooking to contain grease particles that rise in the air and prevent them from settling on kitchen surfaces.—
Karen Brewer Grossman,
Southern Living,
25 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Three sisters started Le Prunier by upcycling plum kernels from their family’s century-old organic farm in Northern California.—
Tory Johnson,
ABC News,
24 Feb. 2026
-
Farina is a finely ground wheat product made from the endosperm of the wheat kernel, which is primarily composed of starch.—
Jillian Kubala,
Health,
20 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Nubbin.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/nubbin. Accessed 3 Mar. 2026.
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