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nubbin

American  
[nuhb-in] / ˈnʌb ɪn /

noun

  1. a small lump or stunted piece; stub.

  2. a small or imperfect ear of corn.

  3. an undeveloped fruit.

nubbin British  
/ ˈnʌbɪn /

noun

  1. something small or undeveloped, esp a fruit or ear of corn

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of nubbin

1685–95, perhaps nub + -in, variant of -ing 1

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The charity said Knobble's nickname was due to a "knobbly nubbin" on top of his dorsal fin.

From BBC • Oct. 26, 2023

Then continue, as “impossibly, without anyone moving him, he bent forward and climbed unsteadily onto his little nubbin legs. The empty sleeve of his puppet hole hung behind him like a tail.”

From Washington Post • Jan. 11, 2023

This month, 192 giant lasers blasted a small cylinder about the size of a pencil eraser that contained a frozen nubbin of hydrogen encased in diamond.

From New York Times • Dec. 13, 2022

When it healed, I could feel a small nubbin of metal.

From The New Yorker • Aug. 16, 2015

Some fur and a nubbin of something pink and pulpy still adhered to the bottom of his water bottle, I noticed when he raised it to his lips.

From "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.