Crossword Dictionary

What's The Definition Of Stub?

\Stub\, n. [OE. stubbe, AS. stub, styb; akin to D. stobbe, LG. stubbe, Dan. stub, Sw. stubbe, Icel. stubbr, stubbi; cf. Gr. ?.] 1. The stump of a tree; that part of a tree or plant which remains fixed in the earth when the stem is cut down; -- applied especially to the stump of a small tree, or shrub. Stubs sharp and hideous to behold. --Chaucer. And prickly stubs instead of trees are found. --Dryden. 2. A log; a block; a blockhead. [Obs.] --Milton. 3. The short blunt part of anything after larger part has been broken off or used up; hence, anything short and thick; as, the stub of a pencil, candle, or cigar. 4. A part of a leaf in a check book, after a check is torn out, on which the number, amount, and destination of the check are usually recorded. 5. A pen with a short, blunt nib. 6. A stub nail; an old horseshoe nail; also, stub iron. {Stub end} (Mach.), the enlarged end of a connecting rod, to which the strap is fastened. {Stub iron}, iron made from stub nails, or old horseshoe nails, -- used in making gun barrels. {Stub mortise} (Carp.), a mortise passing only partly through the timber in which it is formed. {Stub nail}, an old horseshoe nail; a nail broken off; also, a short, thick nail. {Stub short}, or {Stub shot} (Lumber Manuf.), the part of the end of a sawn log or plank which is beyond the place where the saw kerf ends, and which retains the plank in connection with the log, until it is split off. {Stub twist}, material for a gun barrel, made of a spirally welded ribbon of steel and stub iron combined.
\Stub\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Stubbed}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Stubbing}.] 1. To grub up by the roots; to extirpate; as, to stub up edible roots. What stubbing, plowing, digging, and harrowing is to a piece of land. --Berkley. 2. To remove stubs from; as, to stub land. 3. To strike as the toes, against a stub, stone, or other fixed object. [U. S.]