grub
grub Lexical Profile
grub Game Scores & Validity
• noun
The thick, soft-bodied, wormlike juvenile larva of an insect, especially that of a scarab beetle or weevil, which typically lives underground or inside decaying wood and feeds on plant roots.
"The gardener uncovered several plump white grubs while turning over the soil in the vegetable patch."
Food or provisions, especially simple, hearty fare (used informally).
"After hiking all morning, the campers gathered around the fire for some hot grub."
A dirty, slovenly person, or a tedious drudge who performs menial labor.
"The older siblings teased him for acting like a little grub after he spent the afternoon playing in the mud."
• verb
To dig or poke superficially in the soil, or to clear land by uprooting stumps, weeds, and roots.
"The farmers spent the entire week grubbing up old tree stumps to prepare the field for planting."
To search or rummage thoroughly in an awkward or messy way, or to scrounge for something.
"He was grubbing around in the bottom of his backpack looking for a spare pencil."
To toil or work hard and drearily at menial tasks.
"For years, the clerk grubbed away in a windowless office for very modest wages."
• Rhymes for grub
Word Origin & Etymology
From Middle English grubben ('to dig in the dirt'), related to Old High German grubilōn ('to dig or search thoroughly') and derived from the Proto-Germanic root *grub- ('to dig'), sharing a distant root with the word 'grave'.
Usage Trend
Historical frequency of usage in published text.