What does "cub" mean?
A member of the Cub Scouts.
Cub
/kʌb/ noun, verb, slang
noun, verb, slang ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A member of the Cub Scouts.
- Grammar: cub is listed as noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: rookie, airplane, birdling, boy.
- Useful contrasts: adult, seasoned journalist, veteran.
- Usage evidence: You are doing well for a cub reporter.
How to use "cub"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "cub" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "cub" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "cub" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "cub" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "cub" is acting as noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "rookie" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "cub", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A member of the Cub Scouts.
- 2 The young of certain animals, chiefly large carnivorous mammals, including the bear, wolf, fox, lion and tiger.
"a Childe of Lacedemon suffered all his belly and gutts to be torne out by a Cubbe or young Foxe, which he had stolne, and kept close under his garment, rather then he would discover his theft."
- 3 Acronym of cashed-up bogan. abbreviation, acronym, alt-of
- 4 Initialism of cashed-up bogan. abbreviation, alt-of, initialism
- 5 the young of certain carnivorous mammals such as the bear or wolf or lion wordnet
Show 11 more definitions
- 6 A player on the team the "Chicago Cubs".
"Jones became a Cub as the result of a pre-season trade."
- 7 A child, especially an awkward, rude, ill-mannered boy. derogatory, humorous
"O, thou dissembling cub! what wilt thou be / When time hath sowed a grizzle on thy case?"
- 8 a male child (a familiar term of address to a boy) wordnet
- 9 A young man who seeks relationships with older women, or "cougars". slang
- 10 an awkward and inexperienced youth wordnet
- 11 A stall for cattle. obsolete
"[...] I would rather have such a good mother in cub or kennel, than in my closet, or at my table."
- 12 Synonym of cub reporter.
"Swain has interviewed 67 reporters on 16 metropolitan dailies in 10 cities — from cubs to veterans — who talk candidly […]"
- 13 A furry character that is a child (i.e. under the age of adulthood). slang
- 14 Clipping of cub porn or cub art. abbreviation, alt-of, clipping, slang
"Ew, I didn't know he also drew cub..."
- 15 A boy or young man. Northern-Ireland, Ulster
"A man who reared ten cubs and three cutties."
- 16 a younger (or younger-looking) "bear" type of man. slang
Verb
- 1 To give birth to cubs.
- 2 give birth to cubs wordnet
- 3 To hunt fox cubs.
"He knew that, only a few hours from London, the Hunt was cubbing over his ancestral and much-mortgaged acres, while his own horse ate its head off in a stable."
- 4 To shut up or confine. obsolete
"to fall from heaven to hell, to be cubbed up upon a sudden"
Example
"You are doing well for a cub reporter."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "cub"?
Common synonyms include: rookie, airplane, birdling, boy, bub, bubba.
How do you use "cub" in a sentence?
You are doing well for a cub reporter.
How do you pronounce "cub"?
Pronounced /kʌb/.
Etymology
From earlier cubbe. Origin unknown. According to Pokorny, from Proto-Germanic *kubb-, from Proto-Indo-European *gup- (“round object, knoll”), from *gew- (“to bend, curve, arch, vault”). Compare Icelandic and Old Norse kobbi (“seal”), Old Irish cuib (“whelp”). Compare also English cob. Originally, the meaning was specifically "young fox", in which sense it has largely replaced English whelp.