GRUB • E-FREE TRANSLATION.COM • Definition of Grub

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/grəb/ Listen

noun

Grub n.

1.

(Zool.) The larva of an insect, especially of a beetle; called also grubworm. See Illust. of Goldsmith beetle, under Goldsmith. "Yet your butterfly was a grub."

2.

A short, thick man; a dwarf. (Obs.)

3.

Victuals; food. (Slang)

Grub ax or Grub axe, a kind of mattock used in grubbing up roots, etc.

Grub breaker. Same as Grub hook (below).

Grub hoe, a heavy hoe for grubbing.

Grub hook, a plowlike implement for uprooting stumps, breaking roots, etc.

Grub saw, a handsaw used for sawing marble.

Grub Street, a street in London (now called Milton Street), described by Dr. Johnson as "much inhabited by writers of small histories, dictionaries, and temporary poems, whence any mean production is called grubstreet." As an adjective, suitable to, or resembling the production of, Grub Street. "I 'd sooner ballads write, and grubstreet lays."

verb

Grub v. t.

1.

To dig; to dig up by the roots; to root out by digging; followed by up; as, to grub up trees, rushes, or sedge. "They do not attempt to grub up the root of sin."

2.

To supply with food. (Slang)

Grub v. i. (past & past part. grubbed, pres. part. grubbing)

1.

To dig in or under the ground, generally for an object that is difficult to reach or extricate; to be occupied in digging.

2.

To drudge; to do menial work.

See images of 'Grub'

Etymology of 'Grub'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Grub" Quotes from Famous Books

... rigged up on the poop for the passengers, and under it sat Lestrange, trying to read, and the children trying to play. The heat and monotony had reduced even Dicky to just a surly mass, languid in movement as a grub. As for Emmeline, she seemed dazed. The rag-doll lay a yard away from her on the poop deck, unnursed; even the wretched box and its whereabouts she seemed ...

— The Blue Lagoon - A Romance • H. de Vere Stacpoole

... upon good grub," he cried, Intent upon its throatage. "Ah, yes," said the neglected bride, "You're in your ...

— The Devil's Dictionary • Ambrose Bierce

... now, to keep that fellow from complaining, there ought to be a bag of crackers and cheese hung up all the time within his reach, so he could take a snack every hour or two. I reckon those fat legs of his'n must be hollow, for how else could he stow away all the grub he does? He's a regular Oliver Twist, calling ...

— Motor Boat Boys Down the Coast - or Through Storm and Stress to Florida • Louis Arundel

... In the morning, after grub line-up, they lost no time in going to the pump. Here, at least, was something to occupy Tom's mind and afford Archer ...

— Tom Slade on a Transport • Percy Keese Fitzhugh

... no other in this region," said the patrol leader. "He must have discovered our fire, and was creeping up when our vigilant comrade saw him, meaning to steal part of our food supply. We happen to know they're short of grub, and now that the country is being roused against them this man is beginning to be more or less afraid to venture out of the swamp to secure another lot of fowls, or anything else ...

— Afloat - or, Adventures on Watery Trails • Alan Douglas

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