Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Dirty; grimy: synonym: dirty.
  • adjective Infested with grubs.
  • adjective Contemptible; despicable.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Dirty; unclean, as if from grubbing.
  • Stunted; poor; peevish.
  • Infected with grubs.
  • noun The common sculpin, a cottoid fish, Acanthocottus æneus, of New England.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective colloq. Dirty; unclean.
  • noun (Zoöl.), Local, U. S. Any species of Cottus; a sculpin.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective Dirty, unwashed, unclean.
  • adjective Having grubs in it.
  • noun US, dialect Any species of Cottus; a sculpin.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective thickly covered with ingrained dirt or soot
  • adjective infested with grubs
  • noun small sculpin of the coast of New England

Etymologies

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Examples

  • The phrase "British cinema documentary" came to mean a black and white collage of steam locomotives, slag heaps, women in grubby kitchens and men in flat caps, searchlights and bomb damage.

    A British fleet with no aircraft carrier. Unthinkable! Ian Jack 2010

  • Are they scriveners churning out what the novelist Richard Yates himself a sometimes adman called "grubby little jobs for hire," or are they skilled poets performing on a commercial canvas?

    Sweating Ad Copy Like 'Mad Men' 2011

  • Are they scriveners churning out what the novelist Richard Yates himself a sometimes adman called "grubby little jobs for hire," or are they skilled poets performing on a commercial canvas?

    Sweating Ad Copy Like 'Mad Men' 2011

  • Thereupon he engages in what can only be described as a grubby piece of attempted blackmail of his party leader which was rightly rebuffed.

    Miraj set to become a Mirage 2007

  • Thereupon he engages in what can only be described as a grubby piece of attempted blackmail of his party leader which was rightly rebuffed.

    Archive 2007-07-29 2007

  • From being so much with the judges, I grew quite learned in French legal terms, talked of the parquet (which means the Bar), and invariably termed the grubby little Nyons law-court the Palais.

    The Days Before Yesterday Frederick Spencer Hamilton 1892

  • I plan to double what I regularly give to the Obama campaign as an affirmative protest against this kind of grubby low-level attack.

    Citizens United to Release Anti-Obama Documentary - The Caucus Blog - NYTimes.com 2008

  • In the book she recalls him noticing they were "grubby" after a journey from Vienna, and showing them to the bathroom, where he had brushes inscribed "AH".

    The Duchess of Devonshire: 'When you are very old, you cry over some things, but not a lot' 2010

  • The group had been told to dress "grubby," bring tools, and, now, to "buddy up."

    Books: “Nothing Right” 2009

  • March 26th, 2009 2: 21pm stanley Jerusalem - the sheriff is becoming more and bitter. note his words now descending to "grubby" it could be the arrow festering in the toches or tasting the bitter herbs ahead of pesach - he digs bigger holes for himself with every essay he sends, and for what purpose except possibly to amuse - offen yam you know the beginning alanadale

    On Thursday, the Legg report will be published along with... 2009

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