I. ˈnəb noun
( -s )
Etymology: alteration of knub
1. : knob , lump , protuberance
2.
[by shortening]
: nubbin
a nub of corn
a nub of pencil
a nub of land
puffed at the nub of his cigarette — Lionel Shapiro
saw a fawn standing at a nub of grass — Jack Kerouac
3. : core , crux , gist , kernel , point
the nub of an argument
the nub of a problem
if this is the nub of the book — W.W.Howells
4. : a small bunch of fibers usually made on the card, dyed, and interspersed in yarn during spinning
jacket of tobacco-colored wool dotted with fat black nubs — Lois Long
•
- to the nub
II. transitive verb
( nubbed ; nubbed ; nubbing ; nubs )
Etymology: perhaps from nub (I)
1. dialect England : nudge
2. obsolete : to execute by hanging
III. transitive verb
( nubbed ; nubbed ; nubbing ; nubs )
Etymology: nub (I)
: to provide with nubs
nubbed silk
nubbed weaves
nubbed pottery