grub

C2+ Topic:Animals

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

Simplified etymology

Grub is recorded from Middle English with the sense of digging. This digging sense later helped produce grubby, referring to the dirty condition caused by grubbing or digging.

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

Animals 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
- Animals
- Register & Style

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