1
as in speck
a very small piece
had only a nubbin of crayon left
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in root
the central part or aspect of something under consideration
this nubbin of the intelligence report is the prediction that the country's government will soon fall
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of nubbin
Secchi’s ragù is the opposite of bouncy meat nubbins bobbing in tomato sauce.
—
Chris Morocco, Bon Appetit Magazine, 16 Apr. 2025
Double-tapping the nubbin now pops up a menu with volume and microphone controls and voice typing.
—PCMAG, 17 Jan. 2025
Ground nubbins of paprika, cumin, sage and black pepper that have moldered into flavorless, colored molecules.
—Scott Hocker, theweek, 23 Dec. 2024
Heffernan, a gravely captivating newcomer, wraps each expression and gesture around a hard little nubbin of distrust.
—Justin Chang, The New Yorker, 25 Oct. 2024
Being a bit of a handy man in a fight himself, Father Ryan taught Frankie how to roll with a punch, how to upset a right swing with a left stab to his shoulder, and how to swing in with a right cross to the nubbin of the chin while his man was off keel.
—Westbrook Pegler, New York Daily News, 18 Jan. 2024
That changed at 1:03 a.m. on Dec. 5 when 192 giant lasers at the laboratory’s National Ignition Facility blasted a small cylinder about the size of a pencil eraser that contained a frozen nubbin of hydrogen encased in diamond.
—Kenneth Chang, BostonGlobe.com, 13 Dec. 2022
Chris Morocco, Bon Appetit Magazine, 16 Apr. 2025
Double-tapping the nubbin now pops up a menu with volume and microphone controls and voice typing.
—PCMAG, 17 Jan. 2025
Ground nubbins of paprika, cumin, sage and black pepper that have moldered into flavorless, colored molecules.
—Scott Hocker, theweek, 23 Dec. 2024
Heffernan, a gravely captivating newcomer, wraps each expression and gesture around a hard little nubbin of distrust.
—Justin Chang, The New Yorker, 25 Oct. 2024
Being a bit of a handy man in a fight himself, Father Ryan taught Frankie how to roll with a punch, how to upset a right swing with a left stab to his shoulder, and how to swing in with a right cross to the nubbin of the chin while his man was off keel.
—Westbrook Pegler, New York Daily News, 18 Jan. 2024
That changed at 1:03 a.m. on Dec. 5 when 192 giant lasers at the laboratory’s National Ignition Facility blasted a small cylinder about the size of a pencil eraser that contained a frozen nubbin of hydrogen encased in diamond.
—Kenneth Chang, BostonGlobe.com, 13 Dec. 2022
Recent Examples of Synonyms for nubbin
Noun
-
Most astronomers now agree that each of these minuscule crimson specks—which bear a striking resemblance to enormous, faraway stars—actually has a burgeoning black hole at its center.—
Joseph Howlett,
Scientific American,
27 May 2026
-
There are blue spots, specks, scratches, flares, and bits of crud in almost ALL of the Apollo photos.—
Mike Wall,
Space.com,
18 May 2026
Noun
-
Maintain an even supply of moisture to reduce stress on the plant, and water at the roots with a drip hose instead of overhead watering to avoid spreading disease.—
Kim Toscano,
Southern Living,
29 May 2026
-
According to legend, the pithiviers has its roots in the first century, when Gauls combined local flour with almonds brought by Roman traders.—
Jen Rose Smith,
CNN Money,
28 May 2026
Noun
-
All of the captive adults have been named after stars, because the white flecks on their black stomachs look like constellations in the night sky.—
Nathan Rott,
NPR,
27 May 2026
-
The patient noted tiny gray flecks drifting across his field of vision a week ago.—
Peter Ubel,
Forbes.com,
20 May 2026
Noun
-
For families The hotel has a kids club with supervised activities so that parents can dine, have spa treatments or shop to their hearts’ content.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
2 June 2026
-
Our hearts go out to Joe's family, friends and the generations of neighbors who loved him.—
Edward Segarra,
USA Today,
2 June 2026
Noun
-
Maybe get him in motion a little bit more.—
Jaylon Thompson,
Kansas City Star,
30 May 2026
-
There was always a little bit of John in each one of his performances.—
Rosy Cordero,
Deadline,
30 May 2026
Noun
-
And his age fits perfectly with the Sabres’ core.—
Matthew Fairburn,
New York Times,
28 May 2026
-
At its core, KYA focuses on making sure there’s a verified bond between an AI agent and a real human user.—
Andrew Sever,
Forbes.com,
28 May 2026
Noun
-
These devices are also only IP48-rated, which means fine particles could work their way inside and affect the hinge’s functionality, although the Razrs are just as water-resistant as traditional designs.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
27 May 2026
-
Scientists around the world have been working for decades on fusion, which requires overcoming particles’ natural repulsion to combining.—
Judith Kohler,
Denver Post,
27 May 2026
Noun
-
Ben Tzur understands the spiritual kernel of this process, having studied under Ustad Zia Fariduddin Dagar in the ancient dhrupad tradition, where rhythmic Vedic chants achieve a similar effect.—
Arman Khan,
Pitchfork,
1 June 2026
-
Frontier models have already validated hundreds of high-severity zero-days in production open-source code, including a Linux kernel bug that had been sitting unnoticed since 2003.—
Yonesy Nunez,
Forbes.com,
1 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Nubbin.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/nubbin. Accessed 3 Jun. 2026.
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