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Webster 1913 Edition

Grub

Grub

(grŭb)
,
Verb.
I.
[
imp. & p. p.
Grubbed
(grŭbd)
,
p. pr. & vb. n.
Grubbing
.]
[OE.
grubbin
., cf. E.
grab
,
grope
.]
1.
To dig in or under the ground, generally for an object that is difficult to reach or extricate; to be occupied in digging.
2.
To drudge; to do menial work.
Richardson.

Grub

,
Verb.
T.
1.
To dig; to dig up by the roots; to root out by digging; – followed by up;
as, to
grub
up trees, rushes, or sedge
.
They do not attempt to
grub
up the root of sin.
Hare.
2.
To supply with food.
[Slang]
Dickens.

Grub

,
Noun.
1.
(Zool.)
The larva of an insect, especially of a beetle; – called also
grubworm
. See Illust. of
Goldsmith beetle
, under
Goldsmith
.
Yet your butterfly was a
grub
.
Shakespeare
2.
A short, thick man; a dwarf.
[Obs.]
Carew.
3.
Victuals; food.
[Slang]
Halliwell.
Grub ax
or
Grub axe
,
a kind of mattock used in grubbing up roots, etc.
–
Grub breaker
.
Same as
Grub hook
(below).
–
Grub hoe
,
a heavy hoe for grubbing.
–
Grub hook
,
a plowlike implement for uprooting stumps, breaking roots, etc.
–
Grub saw
,
a handsaw used for sawing marble.
–
Grub Street
,
a street in London (now called
Milton Street
), described by Dr. Johnson as “much inhabited by writers of small histories, dictionaries, and temporary poems, whence any mean production is called grubstreet.” As an adjective, suitable to, or resembling the production of, Grub Street.

I ’d sooner ballads write, and
grubstreet
lays.
Gap.

Webster 1828 Edition

Grub

GRUB

,
Verb.
I.
To dig; to be occupied in digging.

GRUB

,
Verb.
T.
To dig; mostly followed by up. To grub up, is to dig up by the roots with an instrument; to root out by digging, or throwing out the soil; as, to grub up trees, rushes or sedge.

GRUB

,
Noun.
[from the Verb.] A small worm; particularly, a hexapod or six-footed worm, produced from the egg of the beetle, which is transformed into a winged insect.
1.
A short thick man; a dwarf, in contempt.

Definition 2024

grub

grub

English

Noun

grub ‎(countable and uncountable, plural grubs)

An immature beetle
  1. (countable) An immature stage in the life cycle of an insect; a larva.
  2. (uncountable, slang) Food.
  3. (obsolete) A short, thick man; a dwarf.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Carew to this entry?)
Synonyms
Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

Verb

grub ‎(third-person singular simple present grubs, present participle grubbing, simple past and past participle grubbed)

  1. To scavenge or in some way scrounge, typically for food.
  2. To dig; to dig up by the roots; to root out by digging; often followed by up.
    to grub up trees, rushes, or sedge
    • Hare
      They do not attempt to grub up the root of sin.
    • 1898, J. Meade Falkner, Moonfleet Chapter 4
      Yet there was no time to be lost if I was ever to get out alive, and so I groped with my hands against the side of the grave until I made out the bottom edge of the slab, and then fell to grubbing beneath it with my fingers. But the earth, which the day before had looked light and loamy to the eye, was stiff and hard enough when one came to tackle it with naked hands, and in an hour's time I had done little more than further weary myself and bruise my fingers.
  3. (slang) To supply with food.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Charles Dickens to this entry?)

Translations

Anagrams

German

Pronunciation

Verb

grub

  1. singular past imperfect form of graben

Serbo-Croatian

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ɡrûːb/

Etymology

From Proto-Slavic *grǫbъ.

Adjective

grȗb ‎(definite grȗbī, comparative grȕbljī, Cyrillic spelling гру̑б)

  1. rough, coarse
  2. rude

Declension

positive definite forms
singular masculine feminine neuter
nominative grubi gruba grubo
genitive grubog(a) grube grubog(a)
dative grubom(u/e) gruboj grubom(u/e)
accusative inanimate
animate 		grubi
grubog(a)		 grubu grubo
vocative grubi gruba grubo
locative grubom(e/u) gruboj grubom(e/u)
instrumental grubim grubom grubim
plural masculine feminine neuter
nominative grubi grube gruba
genitive grubih grubih grubih
dative grubim(a) grubim(a) grubim(a)
accusative grube grube gruba
vocative grubi grube gruba
locative grubim(a) grubim(a) grubim(a)
instrumental grubim(a) grubim(a) grubim(a)
comparative forms
singular masculine feminine neuter
nominative grublji grublja grublje
genitive grubljeg(a) grublje grubljeg(a)
dative grubljem(u) grubljoj grubljem(u)
accusative inanimate
animate 		grublji
grubljeg(a)		 grublju grublje
vocative grublji grublja grublje
locative grubljem(u) grubljoj grubljem(u)
instrumental grubljim grubljom grubljim
plural masculine feminine neuter
nominative grublji grublje grublja
genitive grubljih grubljih grubljih
dative grubljim(a) grubljim(a) grubljim(a)
accusative grublje grublje grublja
vocative grublji grublje grublja
locative grubljim(a) grubljim(a) grubljim(a)
instrumental grubljim(a) grubljim(a) grubljim(a)

Etymology

From hypothetical Old English root *grubbian, from Proto-Germanic *grubb- (compare Old High German grubilōn ‎(“to dig, search”), German grübeln ‎(“to meditate, ponder”)), from Proto-Germanic *grub- ‎(“to dig”). The noun sense of "larva" (c.1400) may derive from the notion of "digging insect" or from the possibly unrelated Middle English grub ‎(“dwarfish fellow”). The slang sense of "food" is first recorded 1659, has been linked with birds eating grubs or with bub ‎(“drink”)."

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ɡɹʌb/
  • Rhymes: -ʌb

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