Grubber
noun, slang ·Moderate ·College level
Definitions
- 1 One who grubs.
- 2 A tool, implement, or machine of the nature of a grub axe, grub hook, etc; (dialectal) a cultivator.
- 3 An attacking short-distance kick in behind the defence in which the ball is bounced along the ground, using the uneven bounce of the ball to make it difficult for the defence to retrieve.
"England had an early opportunity with a line-out deep in French territory after a clever grubber from Foden only for Lionel Nallet to burgle back possession, and they then tore into France again as Alexis Palisson was smashed backwards after taking a garryowen and Manu Tuilagi thundered into Morgan Parra."
- 4 A ball that bounces unusually low such that it is difficult for the batsman to hit properly.
- 5 A sweetshop. UK, dated, slang
"He could, moreover, no longer be tempted to the Grubber, for all chocolate and sweets were taboo."
Example
More examples"England had an early opportunity with a line-out deep in French territory after a clever grubber from Foden only for Lionel Nallet to burgle back possession, and they then tore into France again as Alexis Palisson was smashed backwards after taking a garryowen and Manu Tuilagi thundered into Morgan Parra."
Etymology
From grub + -er.
Related phrases
More for "grubber"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.