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Webster 1913 Edition

Grub

Grub

(grŭb)
,
Verb.
I.
[
imp. & p. p.
Grubbed
(grŭbd)
,
p. pr. & vb. n.
Grubbing
.]
[OE.
grubbin
., cf. E.
grab
,
grope
.]
1.
To dig in or under the ground, generally for an object that is difficult to reach or extricate; to be occupied in digging.
2.
To drudge; to do menial work.
Richardson.

Grub

,
Verb.
T.
1.
To dig; to dig up by the roots; to root out by digging; – followed by up;
as, to
grub
up trees, rushes, or sedge
.
They do not attempt to
grub
up the root of sin.
Hare.
2.
To supply with food.
[Slang]
Dickens.

Grub

,
Noun.
1.
(Zool.)
The larva of an insect, especially of a beetle; – called also
grubworm
. See Illust. of
Goldsmith beetle
, under
Goldsmith
.
Yet your butterfly was a
grub
.
Shakespeare
2.
A short, thick man; a dwarf.
[Obs.]
Carew.
3.
Victuals; food.
[Slang]
Halliwell.
Grub ax
or
Grub axe
,
a kind of mattock used in grubbing up roots, etc.
–
Grub breaker
.
Same as
Grub hook
(below).
–
Grub hoe
,
a heavy hoe for grubbing.
–
Grub hook
,
a plowlike implement for uprooting stumps, breaking roots, etc.
–
Grub saw
,
a handsaw used for sawing marble.
–
Grub Street
,
a street in London (now called
Milton Street
), described by Dr. Johnson as “much inhabited by writers of small histories, dictionaries, and temporary poems, whence any mean production is called grubstreet.” As an adjective, suitable to, or resembling the production of, Grub Street.

I ’d sooner ballads write, and
grubstreet
lays.
Gap.

Webster 1828 Edition

Grub

GRUB

,
Verb.
I.
To dig; to be occupied in digging.

GRUB

,
Verb.
T.
To dig; mostly followed by up. To grub up, is to dig up by the roots with an instrument; to root out by digging, or throwing out the soil; as, to grub up trees, rushes or sedge.

GRUB

,
Noun.
[from the Verb.] A small worm; particularly, a hexapod or six-footed worm, produced from the egg of the beetle, which is transformed into a winged insect.
1.
A short thick man; a dwarf, in contempt.

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