1
as in filthy
not clean
clean off those grubby hands before you touch anything
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in dirty
arousing or deserving of one's loathing and disgust
that's a grubby reason to stop talking to a friend
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of grubby
Disinfectant spray or wipes: Alcohol-free wipes and sprays won't harm rubber, plastic, silicone, or acrylic, but will make quick work of your grubby buds, dissolving wax quickly.
—
Chris Haslam, WIRED, 19 Feb. 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for grubby
Chris Haslam, WIRED, 19 Feb. 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for grubby
Recent Examples of Synonyms for grubby
Adjective
-
Chicagoans will have no one to hold accountable at the ballot box when the buses don’t arrive and rail stations are filthy and crime-ridden.—
Forrest Claypool,
Chicago Tribune,
14 Mar. 2025
-
The plastic waste China received was filthy, much of it too dirty to be cleaned, shredded, and turned into new plastic.—
Scott W. Stern,
The Atlantic,
10 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
The scene will portray oil workers getting in their trucks and heading to work, thus a dirty vehicle is a must.—
Brayden Garcia,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
2 Apr. 2025
-
To understand the increasing flow of dirty stormwater into the system, Miami Waterkeeper and Miami-Dade County put together an audit of the stormwater systems among different municipalities in 2022.—
Courtney Heath,
Miami Herald,
1 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
This can get unsanitary since the dust can circulate in the air of your home, and for some models, dusty coils can affect how efficiently your fridge cools.—
Daley Quinn,
Southern Living,
30 Mar. 2025
-
The petrified bones of extinct horses, ground sloths, cheetahs and bears have been uncovered from the dusty layers of time exposed here.—
Ernie Cowan,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
30 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
In the early 1970s, the widespread availability of cheap, preformed fiberglass pools meant the rate of young children drowning soared.—
Charlie Campbell,
Time,
3 Apr. 2025
-
However, note that these are smaller models that could run on a less expensive GPUs or even a CPU with cheaper memory instead of the super expensive HBM memory currently used in all high-end accelerators.—
Karl Freund,
Forbes.com,
3 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
As holidays go, however, Flag Day can feel a bit lame.—
Kevin Fisher-Paulson,
San Francisco Chronicle,
8 June 2021
-
My 11-year-old loved watching the pups roll balls and play a giant floor piano, but for non-dog owners (guilty as charged), parts of the series—like dressing dogs in little hats and outfits for a Parisian fashion show—feel lame.—
Tim Neville,
Outside Online,
23 Nov. 2020
Adjective
-
In its time open, fueled by fans of its blackened mahi and buttery lobster rolls, owner Mike Smith has expanded his footprint, moving into a larger stall in the popular food hall — which has allowed for a menu expansion, as well.—
Amy Drew Thompson,
Orlando Sentinel,
6 Dec. 2022
-
There are no glamorous furnishings — just a French window, its blackened panes suggesting the dark of night.—
Christopher Knight,
Los Angeles Times,
26 Oct. 2022
Adjective
-
But the modern Democratic Party, rudderless and confused and reeling from a pitiful collective performance during Tuesday evening's presidential joint address to Congress, now confronts a fork in the road that's no joke.—
Newsweek,
Newsweek,
7 Mar. 2025
-
My performance was beyond pitiful today, and has been for a while now.—
Ryan Morik,
Fox News,
3 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
The search effort -- which included law enforcement and military personnel from several countries -- was complicated by the muddy conditions and unstable ground, officials said.—
Emily Shapiro,
ABC News,
1 Apr. 2025
-
In the summer of ’69, hundreds of thousands of people converged on a muddy New York farm to soak in music by artists that Pink Floyd had gigged with: Jimi Hendrix, the Who, and Ten Years After, among them.—
Kory Grow,
Rolling Stone,
28 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Grubby.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/grubby. Accessed 9 Apr. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share