grub

C2+ Topic:Food & Drink

US /ɡrʌb/ UK /ɡrʌb/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

noun
a larva of an insect; food (slang); to dig or search

The hens scratched and grubbed in the dirt for worms.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a larva of an insect; food... larva maggot food victuals dig delve forage rummage

Word family

Forms grubber

Derived forms grubbergrubby

Related forms grubbygrubstake

Etymology

From Middle English grubben ('to dig'), from Old English *grybban, from Proto-Germanic *grubjaną ('to dig'); the noun 'larva' refers to an insect that digs/burrows, and the slang 'food' sense derives from foraging.

grubben Middle English *grubjaną Proto-Germanic

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Food & Drink Register & Style

External links

# grub

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ɡrʌb/
**IPA (UK):** /ɡrʌb/

## Meanings
1. a larva of an insect; food (slang); to dig or search

## Examples
- The hens scratched and grubbed in the dirt for worms.

## Synonyms
- larva
- maggot
- food
- victuals
- dig
- delve
- forage
- rummage

## Derived Forms
- grubber
- grubby

## Related Forms
- grubby
- grubstake

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: grubben
- Root: *grubjaną

## Etymology
From Middle English grubben ('to dig'), from Old English *grybban, from Proto-Germanic *grubjaną ('to dig'); the noun 'larva' refers to an insect that digs/burrows, and the slang 'food' sense derives from foraging.

## AI Etymology
Grub comes from Middle English grubben ('to dig'), from Old English *grybban, from Proto-Germanic *grubjaną ('to dig'); the noun 'larva' refers to an insect that digs/burrows, and the slang 'food' sense derives from foraging. The etymological trail includes Middle English grubben and Proto-Germanic *grubjaną. As a noun, grub names a larva of an insect; food (slang); to dig or search. The same family is visible in derived forms such as grubber and grubby and related forms such as grubby and grubstake.

## Topics
- Food & Drink
- Register & Style

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