stub

¹

[ stuhb ]

noun

1. a short projecting part.
2. a short remaining piece, as of a pencil, candle, or cigar.
3. (in a checkbook, receipt book, etc.) the inner end of each leaf, for keeping a record of the content of the part filled out and torn away.
4. the returned portion of a ticket.
5. the end of a fallen tree, shrub, or plant left fixed in the ground; stump.
6. something having a short, blunt shape, especially a short-pointed, blunt pen.
7. stub nail.
8. something having the look of incomplete or stunted growth, as a horn of an animal.
9. Bridge. a part-score.

verb (used with object)

, stubbed, stub·bing.

1. to strike accidentally against a projecting object:

   I stubbed my toe against the step.

2. to extinguish the burning end of (a cigarette or cigar) by crushing it against a solid object (often followed by out ):

   He stubbed out the cigarette in the ashtray.

3. to clear of stubs, as land.
4. to dig up by the roots; grub up (roots).

stub

²

[ stuhb ]

adjective

1. stocky; squat.

stub

/ stʌb /

noun

1. a short piece remaining after something has been cut, removed, etc

   a cigar stub

2. the residual piece or section of a receipt, ticket, cheque, etc
3. the part of a cheque, postal order, receipt, etc, detached and retained as a record of the transaction Also called (in Britain) counterfoil
4. any short projection or blunted end
5. the stump of a tree or plant

verb

1. to strike (one's toe, foot, etc) painfully against a hard surface
2. usually foll by out to extinguish (a cigarette or cigar) by pressing the end against a surface
3. to clear (land) of stubs
4. to dig up (the roots) of (a tree or bush)

Other Words From

• stubber noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of stub¹

First recorded before 1000; Middle English noun stubb(e), Old English stybb, stubb, stebb “tree stump”; cognate with Middle Low German, Middle Dutch stubbe, Old Norse stubbi; akin to Old Norse stūfr “stump”; the verb is derivative of the noun

Origin of stub²

First recorded in 1705–15; special use of stub ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of stub¹

Old English stubb; related to Old Norse stubbi, Middle Dutch stubbe, Greek stupos stem, stump

Example Sentences

The following month, after a member of the congregation took up the position of treasurer, it was discovered the cheque stub for the £10,000 transaction bore the name Northern Ireland Organs Limited.

From BBC

Although Hug’s Wikipedia article is very short—a mere stub, some would say—it’s worth considering what gets lost when Wikipedia excludes this type of content.

From Slate

Moreover, once the stub is there, it can be easily expanded by any Wikipedia user, whereas newbie editors have to go through procedural hoops to submit a new article for review.

From Slate

For example, personal information on a ticket stub could be replaced with illegible letters, or a private building exchanged for a fake building or other landscape features.

From Science Daily

Sightings of the sweet-toothed Ursus americanus are almost ordinary on Canyon Crest, a stub of a suburban street dotted with swimming pools.

From Los Angeles Times