grub

1 of 2

verb

ˈgrəb 

grubbed; grubbing

transitive verb

1

: to clear by digging up roots and stumps

2

: to dig up by or as if by the roots

intransitive verb

1

a

: to dig in the ground especially for something that is difficult to find or extract

b

: to search about

grubbed in the countryside for food

—Lamp

2

: toil, drudge

grubbing along at newspaper jobs

—Walter Kirn

grubber noun

grub

2 of 2

noun

1

: a soft thick wormlike larva of an insect (such as a beetle)

2

a

: one who does menial work : drudge

b

: a slovenly person

3

: food

Synonyms

Verb

• bang away
• beaver (away)
• dig (away)
• drudge
• endeavor
• fag
• hump
• hustle
• labor
• moil
• peg (away)
• plod
• plow
• plug
• slave
• slog
• strain
• strive
• struggle
• sweat
• toil
• travail
• tug
• work

Noun

• bread
• chow
• chuck [chiefly West]
• comestibles
• eatables
• eats
• edibles
• fare
• food
• foodstuffs
• meat
• provender
• provisions
• table
• tucker [chiefly Australian]
• viands
• victuals
• vittles

Examples of grub in a Sentence

Verb

Everyone was grubbing for whatever food they could find.

students grubbing for better grades

Noun

Let's go get some grub.

after the game, we headed to the diner for some hearty grub

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

Countless publications and companies, whether The Washington Post or Toast, have created tipping guides to help consumers wade through this morass of money grubbing. —Tim Carman, Washington Post, 26 June 2024

So much of the story takes place firmly in and on the ground, whether its characters are grubbing around the countryside or descending six feet under. —David Fear, Rolling Stone, 30 Mar. 2024

Noun

There was a spot out beyond my boat dock, no more than a city block offshore, where a goldenrod grub or a corn borer lowered through a hole in the ice into the dark water at the end of a nylon line was as sure to get results as a saucer of cream set in front of a hungry cat. —Wilson H. Stover, Outdoor Life, 5 Dec. 2024

And for grabbing some grub on the cook’s day off, downtown East Hampton’s Citarella Gourmet Market, and the perennially popular eatery Nick & Toni’s are only a bit more than three miles away. —Mark David, Robb Report, 16 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Verb

Middle English grubben; akin to Old English grafan to dig — more at grave

Noun

Middle English grubbe, from grubben

First Known Use

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Noun

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing grub

• cattle grub
• common cattle grub
• white grub

Kids Definition

grub

1 of 2 verb

ˈgrəb 

grubbed; grubbing

1

: to clear or root out by digging

grub up roots

grub for potatoes

2

: to work hard : drudge

grubber noun

grub

2 of 2 noun

1

: a soft thick wormlike larva of an insect (as a beetle)

2

a

: drudge entry 2

b

: an untidy or dirty person

3

: food sense 1

Medical Definition

grub

noun

ˈgrəb 

: a soft thick wormlike larva of an insect