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
-
Here indeed was a dense speck of wilderness under preserve.—
John Bowe,
Travel + Leisure,
1 Feb. 2026
-
According to the National Weather Service, when a water droplet in a freezing atmosphere comes into contact with a nucleus, like a speck of dust or pollen, an ice crystal is formed.—
Ray Petelin,
CBS News,
31 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
While neighboring vineyards resorted to grafting their vines onto pest-resistant American roots, DRC used various intensive strategies to keep its original European vines intact, at least until the 1940s.—
Pin Yen Tan 9 min ago,
CNN Money,
6 Feb. 2026
-
In 2017, McRae went back to her YouTube roots and uploaded a video of herself singing an original ballad.—
Janelle Ash,
FOXNews.com,
6 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Editors could immediately tell that this wasn't your typical tortilla chip, noting the pale color and dark flecks of chia seed.—
Kimberly Holland,
Southern Living,
30 Jan. 2026
-
But right now, nearly every fleck of AI folly that’s risen to the top has been utter dreck.—
Kieran Press-Reynolds,
Pitchfork,
28 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Surgery, cancer, heart and lung diseases, age (over 40 years old) and family history are among risk factors for developing a pulmonary embolism, per Medline Plus.—
Anthony Robledo,
USA Today,
10 Feb. 2026
-
In January, lawyer Robert Pang said Lai suffered health issues including heart palpitations, high blood pressure and diabetes.—
Kanis Leung,
Los Angeles Times,
9 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
The numbers have been slowly ticking up for over a year – a rare bit of good news for a government that has spent billions of dollars for more than a decade encouraging people to do just that.—
Jessie Yeung,
CNN Money,
7 Feb. 2026
-
What & Why Rhode Island digs into this curious bit of beach trivia.—
Kathleen Hill,
The Providence Journal,
7 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Perhaps, on extremely long timescales, those heavier elements will sink to the center of the core, producing an inert center that slows the rate of fusion even further.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
6 Feb. 2026
-
Sina Azodi, the director of the Middle East Studies Program at George Washington University, told Fox News Digital that Khamenei’s authority stems from direct control over Iran’s core power centers.—
Efrat Lachter,
FOXNews.com,
6 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Many objects are very dusty, many objects are located behind dust-rich regions of our own galaxy, and dust itself is a physical object made out of particles with a range of grain sizes.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
4 Feb. 2026
-
The world’s largest cryogenic particle detector The DUNE far detector is planned as a series of enormous modules that will be constructed sequentially over several years.—
Chris Young,
Interesting Engineering,
4 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Studying fuel behavior The study focused on the balance between uranium carbide and uranium oxide within the fuel kernel.—
Georgina Jedikovska,
Interesting Engineering,
3 Feb. 2026
-
The wheel could then be attached to a corn-grinding machine so that each step would help mash the kernels.—
Outside,
Outside,
31 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Nubbin.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/nubbin. Accessed 11 Feb. 2026.
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