stub Meaning, Definition & Usage

noun a short piece remaining on a trunk or stem where a branch is lost
noun a small piece
nub.
- a nub of coal
- a stub of a pencil
noun a torn part of a ticket returned to the holder as a receipt
ticket stub.
noun the part of a check that is retained as a record
counterfoil; check stub.
noun the small unused part of something (especially the end of a cigarette that is left after smoking)
butt.
verb pull up (weeds) by their roots
verb extinguish by crushing
- stub out your cigarette now
verb clear of weeds by uprooting them
- stub a field
verb strike (one's toe) accidentally against an object
- She stubbed her toe in the dark and now it's broken

OE. stubbe, AS. stub, styb; akin to D. stobbe, LG. stubbe, Dan. stub, Sw. stubbe, Icel. stubbr, stubbi; cf. Gr. .

The stump of a tree; that part of a tree or plant which remains fixed in the earth when the stem is cut down; -- applied especially to the stump of a small tree, or shrub.
Stubs sharp and hideous to behold. Chaucer.

And prickly stubs instead of trees are found. Dryden.
A log; a block; a blockhead. Obs. Milton.
The short blunt part of anything after larger part has been broken off or used up; hence, anything short and thick; as, the stub of a pencil, candle, or cigar.
A part of a leaf in a check book, after a check is torn out, on which the number, amount, and destination of the check are usually recorded.
A pen with a short, blunt nib.
A stub nail; an old horseshoe nail; also, stub iron.

imperfect & past participle Stubbed ; present participle & verbal noun Stubbing

To grub up by the roots; to extirpate; as, to stub up edible roots.
What stubbing, plowing, digging, and harrowing is to a piece of land. Berkley.
To remove stubs from; as, to stub land.
To strike as the toes, against a stub, stone, or other fixed object. U. S.