Stub Definition
stŭb
stubbed, stubbing, stubs
noun
stubs
The stump of a tree or plant.
Webster's New World
A short piece or length remaining after the main part has been removed or used up.
The stub of a tail, cigar, pencil, etc.
Webster's New World
Something cut short or arrested in development.
A stub of a tail.
American Heritage
Any short projection.
A mere stub of a horn.
Webster's New World
The part of a ticket returned as a voucher of payment.
American Heritage
verb
stubbed, stubbing, stubs
To dig or pull (weeds, etc.) out by the roots.
Webster's New World
To cut down, leaving only a stump.
Webster's New World
To clear (land) of stubs, or stumps.
Webster's New World
To strike (one's foot, toe, etc.) accidentally against something.
Webster's New World
To snuff out (a cigarette butt) by crushing.
American Heritage
Origin of Stub
-
From Middle English stubbe (“tree stump"), from Old English stybb (“tree stump") , from Proto-Germanic *stubjaz (compare Middle Dutch stubbe, Old Norse stubbr), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)teu-; compare steep (“sharp slope").
From Wiktionary
Sense extended in Middle English to similarly shaped objects. Verb sense “strike one's toe" is recorded 1848; “extinguish a cigarette" 1927.
From Wiktionary
Middle English stubbe tree stump from Old English stybb
From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
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