stubble

American  

[stuhb-uhl] / ˈstʌb əl /

noun

1. Usually stubbles. the stumps of grain and other stalks left in the ground when the crop is cut.

2. such stumps collectively.

3. any short, rough growth, as of beard.

---

stubble British  

/ ˈstʌbəl /

noun

1. 1. the stubs of stalks left in a field where a crop has been cut and harvested

   2. ( as modifier )

      a stubble field

2. any bristly growth or surface

---

Other Word Forms

• stubbled adjective
• stubbly adjective
• unstubbled adjective

Etymology

Origin of stubble

1250–1300; Middle English stuble < Old French estuble < Vulgar Latin *stupula, Latin stipula stipule

Example Sentences

I study his profile, notice the fine stubble along the curve of his jaw, and the way the fringe of his hair brushes the top of his long eyelashes.

From Literature

Wearing an ill-fitting hooded sweatshirt, with gray stubbles and baggy eyes, he didn’t look like a typical upscale tourist.

From The Wall Street Journal

Dad brought it in when he came from plowing in the oat stubble.

From Literature

The 54-year-old comedian with a beard full of gray stubble drops back to pass, launching a tight spiral underneath SoFi’s massive technicolor halo scoreboard hovering above a sea of empty stands.

From Los Angeles Times

The stubble of weeds was prickly under my feet.

From Literature