GRUBBY


Meaning of GRUBBY in English

grub ‧ by /ˈɡrʌbi/ BrE AmE adjective

[ Date: 1600-1700 ; Origin: ⇨ ↑ grub 1 ; because places full of grubs are dirty ]

1 . fairly dirty:

a grubby handkerchief

a gang of grubby kids

2 . grubby behaviour or activity is morally unpleasant:

the grubby details of his financial dealings

3 . grubby hands/paws/mitts informal used to talk about someone touching something or becoming involved in it when you do not want them to:

Keep your grubby paws to yourself!

I bet he can’t wait to get his grubby hands on my money!

—grubbiness noun [uncountable]

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THESAURUS

▪ dirty not clean:

His clothes were untidy and he had dirty hands.

▪ filthy very dirty:

Each year filthy water causes millions of cases of illness.

▪ muddy covered with mud:

It had been raining hard and the path was muddy.

▪ dusty covered with dust:

the dusty shelves in the attic

▪ greasy covered with oil or grease:

Greasy food is bad for your health.

▪ grubby ( also mucky British English ) informal fairly dirty and needing to be cleaned or washed:

He was wearing a grubby white T-shirt.

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mucky fingers

▪ grimy covered with thick dirt or dirt that has been there a long time:

I couldn’t see much out of the grimy windows of the train.

▪ dingy /ˈdɪndʒi/ looking dark, dirty, and unpleasant. Used about rooms, houses, and buildings:

We worked in a dingy little office behind the station.

▪ polluted used about land, water, or air that has been made dirty:

85% of city dwellers breathe heavily polluted air.

▪ contaminated made dirty by a dangerous substance or bacteria:

The virus is mainly spread through contaminated food.

▪ squalid /ˈskwɒləd, ˈskwɒlɪd $ ˈskwɑː-/ formal extremely dirty and unpleasant. Used about the place or conditions in which someone lives:

People are living in squalid conditions, with little water and no sanitation.

▪ unhygienic /ʌnhaɪˈdʒiːnɪk◂ $ -ˈdʒe-, -ˈdʒiː-/ formal used about dirty conditions that are likely to cause disease, especially conditions in kitchens, restaurants, and hospitals:

The food was prepared under unhygienic conditions.

▪ unsanitary ( also insanitary British English ) formal used about dirty conditions that are likely to cause disease, especially because there is not a good system for getting rid of waste:

People’s health is being threatened by overcrowded and insanitary homes.

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They work for long hours in unsanitary conditions.

▪ soiled formal made dirty, especially by waste from your body:

Soiled nappies should be changed as quickly as possible.

Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English.      Longman - Словарь современного английского языка.