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
-
But such interludes add up to small specks of stormclouds in the show’s otherwise sunny skies.—
Alison Herman,
Variety,
2 June 2026
-
Most astronomers now agree that each of these minuscule crimson specks—which bear a striking resemblance to enormous, faraway stars—actually has a burgeoning black hole at its center.—
Joseph Howlett,
Scientific American,
27 May 2026
Noun
-
The nonalcoholic Racine is designed entirely around roots—ginger, vetiver, turmeric, liquorice—while the Feuille cocktail focuses solely on leaves, blending mint, blue spirulina, blackcurrant bud, aloe vera, and patchouli.—
Lane Nieset,
Condé Nast Traveler,
4 June 2026
-
Although some of the grass blades grow back, the turf rejuvenates itself after every mowing thanks to tillers or new leaves that arise from root crowns.—
Joshua Siskin,
Oc Register,
4 June 2026
Noun
-
From the train windows, expect to spot the aquamarine waves of Ligurian Sea crashing against the stony coast, candy-colored houses huddled together on the hillsides, tiny wooden boats gliding through village harbors, and flecks of golden-sand beaches.—
Jessica Puckett,
Condé Nast Traveler,
5 June 2026
-
The light had a wintry grain, with flecks of color suspended in it.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
3 June 2026
Noun
-
In the end, McGinniss’s new team breaks his heart, as all your rooting interests in sports eventually will.—
Leander Schaerlaeckens
June 8,
Literary Hub,
8 June 2026
-
Your generous heart brightens others, yet quiet courage today keeps your creative fire protected while old feelings move through safely.—
Tarot.com,
Chicago Tribune,
8 June 2026
Noun
-
In Cawker City, population 465, the twine ball is a symbol of community—a collective commitment to the bit.—
Arati Menon,
Condé Nast Traveler,
7 June 2026
-
A little bit of the all-or-nothing from him.—
David Troy OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
6 June 2026
Noun
-
While the run business resonated with shoppers, the company’s campaign for its core yoga product didn’t live up to expectations.—
Evan Clark,
Footwear News,
4 June 2026
-
Other major areas in the district include Galt, Elk Grove and several capital region neighborhoods including Campus Commons, Oak Park, south Sacramento and the city’s downtown core.—
Mathew Miranda
June 4,
Sacbee.com,
4 June 2026
Noun
-
The team then used ultrasonication, a technique that uses high-frequency sound waves to agitate and process materials, and broke the bulk liquid metal into fine particles.—
Georgina Jedikovska,
Interesting Engineering,
3 June 2026
-
So by necessity, the encoding must be approximate, and therefore some aspects of what’s going on in the space-time can’t be perfectly recovered by measuring a subset of the quantum particles in the usual way.—
Quanta Magazine,
Quanta Magazine,
3 June 2026
Noun
-
The vulnerability, tracked as CVE-2026-23111, is located in nf_tables, a subsystem of the Linux kernel that provides packet filtering capabilities.—
Dan Goodin,
ArsTechnica,
9 June 2026
-
When cool enough to handle, cut kernels from cobs and coarsely chop onion.—
Cathy Thomas,
Oc Register,
8 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Nubbin.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/nubbin. Accessed 10 Jun. 2026.
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