grub

[gruhb]

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

/ 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

Word History and Origins

Origin of grub¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of grub¹

C13: of Germanic origin; compare Old High German grubilōn to dig, German grübeln to rack one's brain, Middle Dutch grobben to scrape together; see _grave ³, _groove

Example Sentences

Foodies will be able to buy hot and cold grub during the event.

From BBC

She uses it to tap fatefully on trees and listen for the tiny movements of tasty grubs within, which she then extracts using those same Nosferatu phalanges.

From Salon

But there’s something dingy and gross, like mottled drifts of old snow, about the overweening influence of Trump’s courtiers and their grubbing relationship with a president so obviously enamored of money and flattery.

From Los Angeles Times

Prized ancient vineyards across France are being grubbed up.

From BBC

We have to ask ourselves as a society: Do we want college to be a place of intellectual growth or a performative exercise in grade grubbing?

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• maggot 
• worm