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
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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
The Carbon has two sets of pointing devices: a smallish touchpad, and ThinkPads' trademark TrackPoint keyboard nubbin with three mouse buttons.
—PCMAG, 17 Jan. 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
The Carbon has two sets of pointing devices: a smallish touchpad, and ThinkPads' trademark TrackPoint keyboard nubbin with three mouse buttons.
—PCMAG, 17 Jan. 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
-
Serve them with slices of prosciutto or speck, sure.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
6 July 2025
-
Dishes such as beef stew with speck dumplings or Wienerschnitzel in butter breaded veal cutlet, with roasted potatoes and cranberry jam, are big favorites.—
Paul Caputo,
Forbes.com,
4 July 2025
Noun
-
Without addressing root causes of violence, long-term solutions and improvements can never be realized.—
Omer Awan,
Forbes.com,
20 July 2025
-
Fact: Healthy lawns should be watered deeply, but less often, to encourage root growth and drought tolerance.—
Mary Marlowe Leverette,
Southern Living,
20 July 2025
Noun
-
In any case, there are sure to be at least a few flecks of moss or lichen, gray or gray-green, on that side.—
Ted Updike,
Outdoor Life,
22 May 2025
-
The workmanship shows in the color and precision of the grout, the mottling of dark flecks, and the triangular pieces where the arches meet — details that give the façade a subliminal liveliness.—
Justin Davidson,
Curbed,
5 Mar. 2025
Noun
-
What makes for a better song — a broken heart or falling in love?—
Brittany Talarico,
People.com,
15 July 2025
-
Gold was also a winner at Rahul Mishra, whose show opened with a minidress sculpted like a human heart decked-out in gold sequins.—
Ari Stark,
Footwear News,
15 July 2025
Noun
-
Runners-up in that Royal Box race for best-hair-on-a-couple are Louis Partridge and Olivia Rodrigo, who manage to look spanking fresh and somehow, just that little bit more relaxed and at home than Mr. and Mrs. Jonas.—
Guy Martin,
Forbes.com,
12 July 2025
-
These particles include tiny bits of pollution from engines, heating systems, wildfires, and industrial activity But 2023 was a cautionary tale: wildfire smoke pushed the annual average back up to 8.7, a level not seen since the previous decade.—
Youssef Rafik,
Hartford Courant,
12 July 2025
Noun
-
Wake Forest University School of Medicine serves as the academic core of Advocate Health.—
Chase Jordan
July 10,
Charlotte Observer,
10 July 2025
-
But a case brought by the American Civil Liberties Union and joined by the city of Los Angeles, set for arguments in court on Thursday, addresses the core of the raids themselves and could deal a significant policy blow to the Trump administration.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
10 July 2025
Noun
-
Kaiser consistently said that the particles were harmless, inert material dislodged by a malfunctioning water heater that was not infectious.—
Paul Sisson,
Mercury News,
10 July 2025
-
The unit is also equipped with a Clean Sense IQ monitor, which will keep track of any extra particles.—
Yelena Moroz Alpert,
Architectural Digest,
9 July 2025
Noun
-
Cut corn kernels from the cob using a sharp knife; discard cobs.—
Katlyn Moncada,
Better Homes & Gardens,
11 July 2025
-
Quantum kernels demonstrate superior performance to traditional feature engineering methods when the decision boundary remains difficult to separate.—
Sadhasivam Mohanadas,
Forbes.com,
9 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Nubbin.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/nubbin. Accessed 24 Jul. 2025.
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