cub

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“
Like many another Southern woman, she might shrink from a cut on a child's finger and only regain her mental poise by a liberal application of smelling salts, but once touch that boy of hers--the child she had nourished and lived for--and all the rage of the she-wolf fighting for her cub was aroused.

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Definitions (23)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (4)

  1. noun The young of certain carnivorous animals, such as the bear, wolf, or lion.
  2. noun A youth, especially one who is inexperienced, awkward, or ill-mannered.
  3. noun A novice or learner, particularly in newspaper reporting.
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Examples (50)

  • And, presently Suma lost all thought of Warruk as the time for choosing a mate drew near As for the cub--he was free; free as the wind that swept the wild wastes of land and water comprising the desolate pantenal country. —  The Black Phantom
  • Hamilton was a slender, graceful young man, handsomer than even Lee, and with piercing black eyes Lee," he said, "the cub is a genuine curiosity. —  Ahead of the Army
  • In the morning, with cooler judgment, we decided that a bear cub was too troublesome a pet to keep in a tent; so I stood by with a rifle while Simmo hove off the logs and cut the stakes, keeping a wary eye on me, meanwhile, to see how far he might trust his life to my nerve in case the cub should be big and troublesome; for an Indian takes no chances. —  Wood Folk at School
  • "Oughtn't I before I go to say a word to Lord Theign Is it your idea to become a lion in his path Well, say a cub--as that's what I'm afraid he'll call me! —  The Outcry
  • How the cub was fed I don't recall but he lived mainly in our hut and became quite tame. —  Coming of Age: 1939-1946
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Allen's Allen's Synonyms and Antonyms

Used in the same context Used in the Same Context

pup ·  kitten ·  puppy ·  calve ·  whelp ·  panther ·  foal ·  hyena ·  colt ·  lioness ·  lamb ·  heifer

Used in the same contextWord Family

cub:   cubs

Etymologies (6)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. Origin unknown.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (5)

  1. Origin obscure; not recorded in Middle English; perhaps Celtic, from Irish cuib, a cub, whelp, dog (cf. Gaelic cuain, a litter of whelps), from Irish Gaelic cu = Welsh ci, a dog, = English hound. The native English word for cub is whelp, q. v.
  2. from cub, n.
  3. English dial., prob. a variant (the more orig. form) of chub in the general sense of ‘roundish lump’: see chub, and cf. cob, which is in part a variant of cub. Cf. cub.
  4. To be considered with the diminutive cubby, q. v.; prob. of Low German origin; cf. Low German kubje (diminutive, later English cubby?). to-kubje, also kübbung, a shed or lean-to for cattle; bekubbelt, narrow, contracted, crowded for room; cf. also Dutch kub, kubbe, a fish-trap, which suggests a connection with cubby, a creel. In the sense of ‘cupboard,’ cub may be an abbreviation of the old form cubbord.
  5. See cub, n.
 

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/kəb/
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