grub

American  

[gruhb] / grʌb /

noun

1. the thick-bodied, sluggish larva of several insects, as of a scarab beetle.

2. a dull, plodding person; drudge.

3. an unkempt person.

4. Slang. food; victuals.

5. any remaining roots or stumps after cutting vegetation to clear land for farming.

---

verb (used with object)

grubbed, grubbing

1. to dig; clear of roots, stumps, etc.

2. to dig up by the roots; uproot (often followed by up orout ).

3. Slang. to supply with food; feed.

4. Slang. to scrounge.

   to grub a cigarette.

verb (used without object)

grubbed, grubbing

1. to dig; search by or as if by digging.

   We grubbed through piles of old junk to find the deed.

2. to lead a laborious or groveling life; drudge.

   It's wonderful to have money after having to grub for so many years.

3. to engage in laborious study.

4. Slang. to eat; take food.

grub British  

/ ɡrʌb /

verb

1. to search for and pull up (roots, stumps, etc) by digging in the ground

2. to dig up the surface of (ground, soil, etc), esp to clear away roots, stumps, etc

3. (intr; often foll by in or among) to search carefully

4. (intr) to work unceasingly, esp at a dull task or research

5. slang to provide (a person) with food or (of a person) to take food

6. slang (tr) to scrounge

   to grub a cigarette

---

noun

1. the short legless larva of certain insects, esp beetles

2. slang food; victuals

3. a person who works hard, esp in a dull plodding way

4. informal a dirty child

Other Word Forms

• grubber noun

Etymology

Origin of grub

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English grubbe (noun), grubben (verb); akin to Old High German grubilōn “to dig,” German grübeln “to rack (the brain),” Old Norse gryfia “hole, pit”; grave ¹, groove

Example Sentences

How did a recherché, quasi-French dish leave the skillful hands of Thomas Jefferson’s enslaved cooks and wind up being popular grub for millions of today’s cooks and consumers, white and—emphatically—black?

From The Wall Street Journal

And I started collecting things and leaving them as presents in their basement: snakes, spiders, grubs, and slugs.

From Literature

“Want some more grub, Chase?” his father asked.

From Literature

The 85-pound turtle earned her nickname from aquarium staffers when she quickly began eating after having her flipper amputated, and her enthusiasm for grub hasn’t waned.

From Los Angeles Times

Or was it a food stall dishing out free grub?

From BBC

Related Words

• maggot
• worm