grubby

adjective

grub·​by ˈgrə-bē 

grubbier; grubbiest

1

: infested with fly maggots

2

a

: dirty, grimy

grubby hands

b

: slovenly, sloppy

3

: worthy of contempt : base

grubby political motives

grubbily

ˈgrə-bə-lē 

adverb

grubbiness

ˈgrə-bē-nəs 

noun

Synonyms

• bedraggled
• befouled
• begrimed
• bemired
• besmirched
• black
• blackened
• cruddy
• dingy
• dirty
• draggled
• dusty
• filthy
• foul
• grimy
• grotty [chiefly British]
• grungy
• mucky
• muddy
• nasty
• smudged
• smutty
• soiled
• sordid
• stained
• sullied
• unclean
• uncleanly

Examples of grubby in a Sentence

He lives in a grubby little apartment.

clean off those grubby hands before you touch anything

Recent Examples on the Web

There’s no prize money, of course, and nothing as grubby as a sponsor; superyacht owners don’t need the cash, but prefer the chance to lift the Bucket Cup. —Mark Ellwood, AFAR Media, 23 Dec. 2024

Christmas is about togetherness and harmony, not grubby messes and conflict, and as far as DeeDee (Vanessa Bayer) is concerned, that’s part of the problem. —Sophie Brookover, Vulture, 5 Dec. 2024

With a few strokes of JFK’s pen, the NFL was effectively granted an exemption to the Sherman Antitrust Act and college football could rest easy knowing that the pros wouldn’t be allowed to get their grubby meat hooks on Saturdays in autumn. —Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 20 Dec. 2024

Players use spellbook-style molds to make little grubby monster pieces to fight against each other in the game. —Rob Wieland, Forbes, 16 Dec. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1725, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

grubby

adjective

grub·​by ˈgrəb-ē 

grubbier; grubbiest

: dirty entry 1 sense 1, slovenly

grubbily

ˈgrəb-ə-lē 

adverb

grubbiness

ˈgrəb-ē-nəs 

noun