I. ˈstəb noun
( -s )
Usage: often attributive
Etymology: Middle English stubb, stubbe, from Old English stubb, stybb; akin to Old Norse stubbi stub, stūfr stump, Greek stypos stem, stump, typtein to beat, strike — more at type
1.
a. : the part of a tree or plant that remains fixed in the earth when the stem is cut down or broken off : stump , snag
solitary woodpeckers were drilling on the dead stubs — Hugh Fosburgh
b. : a short piece of a broken or trimmed branch remaining on the stem or trunk
2. : something fashioned or worn to a short or blunt shape: as
a. : an old or worn nail or piece of iron
b. : fence 6
c. : stub tenon
d. : a short broad file with a handle projecting at an angle suitable for filing broad flat surfaces
e. : a pen with a short blunt nib
f. : a usually cylindrical and often metallic protuberance used to tune or adjust the impedance of transmission lines at such high frequencies that conventional coils and condensers are impractical
3. : a short blunt portion (as of a pencil, candle, or cigarette) remaining after the larger part has been broken off or used up
4. : something that appears cut short or stunted : a rudimentary growth (as of a feather or horn)
5.
a. : a small portion of each leaf (as of a checkbook or receipt book) permanently attached to the backbone for memoranda of the contents of the part filled out and torn away
b. : the portion of a ticket (as of admission or of a checking service) torn off and returned to the user for verification or identification
6. : guard 9a, 9b
7. : a vertical column at the extreme left side of a statistical or mathematical table usually containing items of subject matter that are treated in vertical columns to its right
8. : stub track
II. transitive verb
( stubbed ; stubbed ; stubbing ; stubs )
Etymology: Middle English stubben, from stubb, stubbe, n.
1.
a. : to grub or dig up by the roots : root out — usually used with up
stubbing up thornbushes
the forest was gradually felled and stubbed up — A.C.Benson
b. : to remove trees, stumps, or scrub growth from (land)
stubs the heath to make his garden
c. : to hew or cut down (a tree) close to the ground
2.
a. archaic : to reduce or wear down to a stub
b. : to make (as a knife or pencil) blunt at the point
3. : to lame (a horse) by allowing to walk over stubs
brought the horse home badly stubbed
4.
a. : to crush or drive (as stone) into the ground : pulverize
b. : to extinguish (as a cigarette) by crushing
finished his cigarette, stubbed it on the floor — Victor Canning
— often used with out
smoked her cigarette … then she stubbed it out — Elizabeth Goudge
5. : to strike (one's foot or toe) against a stub or stone
stubbed his toe and fell heavily
6. : guard 6
7. : to pluck the pinfeathers from (a fowl)
birds are usually stubbed by female labor — W.P.Blount