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.

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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

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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

"They do an amazing job for nature, they eat grubs in the soil, they turn over the soil, they help soils drain and hold water".

From BBC

After much exhausting digging, he grubbed up four more, ate two, and stuffed two in his jerkin for later.

From Literature

When asked for a response to Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, he said "grub" which drew applause from the audience.

From BBC

He replied "grub" when asked about Britain's disgraced former prince Andrew, and "winner" at the mention of Melbourne-born Formula One driver Oscar Piastri.

From Barron's

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

Related Words

• maggot
• worm