grub

/grəb/

/grəb/

Other forms: grubs; grubbing; grubbed

The noun grub can refer either to a soft, young insect or to hearty food. If your best friend invites you over for some grub, don't worry — she almost certainly means the food and not the bugs.

The grubs your dad picks off of his tomato plant are insects, while the grub you eat in the school cafeteria includes spaghetti and Sloppy Joes. The most interesting thing about this word is how it went from describing a squishy, arguably gross little beetle larva to an informal term for something delicious. Experts guess that it comes from birds gobbling grubs. This slang definition has been around since the 17th century.

Definitions of grub

1. noun

   a soft thick wormlike larva of certain beetles and other insects
   types:

   maggot

   the larva of the housefly and blowfly commonly found in decaying organic matter

   leatherjacket

   tough-skinned larva of certain crane flies

   type of:

   larva

   the immature free-living form of most invertebrates and amphibians and fish which at hatching from the egg is fundamentally unlike its parent and must metamorphose
2. verb

   ask for and get free; be a parasite
   synonyms: bum, cadge, mooch, sponge

   types:

   freeload

   live off somebody's generosity

   type of:

   obtain

   come into possession of
3. verb

   search about busily
   type of:

   look for, search, seek

   try to locate or discover, or try to establish the existence of
4. noun

   informal terms for a meal
   synonyms: chow, chuck, eats

   type of:

   fare

   the food and drink that are regularly served or consumed