I. ˈgrəb verb
( grubbed ; grubbed ; grubbing ; grubs )
Etymology: Middle English grobben, grubben; akin to Middle Dutch grobben to scramble, scrape, Old High German grubilōn to dig, search, Old Norse gryfja hole, pit, ditch, Old English grafan to dig, grave — more at grave (dig)
transitive verb
1. : to remove roots or stumps from : clear or break up the surface of by digging
loggers cut off the virgin timber and farmers grubbed out their clearings — R.A.Billington
women and children helped to grub the land — E.H.Collis
2.
a. : to dig up by the roots : root out by digging
a palmetto was grubbed from the site — American Guide Series: Florida
grubbing up bulbs and edible roots — E.J.Sawyer
grubbing out stumps might be a long and costly business — American Guide Series: Minnesota
b. : to extract especially by digging
followed by sappers who grubbed up the mines — J.F.C.Fuller
grubbed the mote as well as I could by the deficient light — Joseph Furphy
c. : to bring to light, assemble, or acquire by plodding, painful, or tedious effort
barely grubbing a subsistence — Daniel Friedenberg
the task of grubbing out new data — J.D.Hicks
seems to have grubbed his materials together — A.S.Stein
3. : to provide with food : feed
five children to grub
intransitive verb
1.
a. : to dig in or under the ground especially for an object that is difficult to reach or extricate
grubbing in the earth for potatoes
grubbed for clams on the mud flats
scholars will grub in the ruins for … records and fragments — W.P.Webb
b. : to search about especially laboriously as if by digging : rummage
grubbed hopelessly about the cupboard shelves — Arthur Morrison
love to grub through junk shops — Leo Lerman
grubbed in the countryside for food and fuel — Lamp
to grub for origins is none of my business — Clive Bell
2. : to lead a laborious or a drearily plodding life : toil , drudge
grubbing along from day to day
have to begin grubbing all over again — Ellen Glasgow
folks who grub for money — James Street
3. : to take food : eat
time to grub
Synonyms: see dig
II. noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English grobbe, grubbe, from grobben, grubben, v.
1. : a soft thick wormlike larva of an insect (as a beetle)
2.
a. : a dull unattractive person : drudge
b. : a person of grubby or slovenly appearance or of unpleasant or ill-bred manners
3. : food , victuals
a pot of coffee on the fire and warm grub — F.B.Gipson
4. : a root or stump in the ground