What does "stub" mean?
Something blunted, stunted, or cut short, such as stubble or a stump.
Stub
/stʌb/ noun, verb
noun, verb ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: Something blunted, stunted, or cut short, such as stubble or a stump.
- Grammar: stub is listed as noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: ticket stub, admission stub, billhead, bitter end.
- Useful contrasts: avoid, complete, complete entry.
- Usage evidence: On a pay stub are mentioned: the gross salary and the net salary.
How to use "stub"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "stub" 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 "stub" 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 "stub" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "stub" 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 "stub" is acting as noun, verb 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 "ticket stub" 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 "stub", 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 Something blunted, stunted, or cut short, such as stubble or a stump.
"And prickly stubs instead of trees are found."
- 2 the small unused part of something (especially the end of a cigarette that is left after smoking) wordnet
- 3 A piece of certain paper items, designed to be torn off and kept for record or identification purposes.
"check stub"
- 4 the part of a check that is retained as a record wordnet
- 5 A placeholder procedure that has the signature of the planned procedure but does not yet implement the intended behavior.
"Even though the stub is a dummy, it allows us to determine whether the procedure is called at the right time by the program or calling procedure."
Show 15 more definitions
- 6 a torn part of a ticket returned to the holder as a receipt wordnet
- 7 A procedure that translates requests from external systems into a format suitable for processing and then submits those requests for processing.
"The server performs the server RPC runtime library functions to accept the request and call the server stub procedure. […] After this, the server stub calls the actual procedure on the server."
- 8 a small piece wordnet
- 9 A row heading in a table (with horizontal reference, whereas a column heading has vertical reference).
- 10 a short piece remaining on a trunk or stem where a branch is lost wordnet
- 11 An article providing only minimal information and intended for later development.
"A stub is usually long enough to serve as a quick definition, but too short to provide encyclopedic coverage of a subject (see Figure 4-2)."
- 12 A length of transmission line or waveguide that is connected at one end only.
- 13 The remaining part of the docked tail of a dog
- 14 An unequal first or last interest calculation period, as a part of a financial swap contract
- 15 A log or block of wood. obsolete
- 16 A blockhead. obsolete
"I doubt not but ye ſhall have more adoe to drive out dulleſt and lazieſt youth, our ſtocks and ſtubbs from the infinite deſire of such a happy nurture, then we have now to hale and drag our choiſeſt and hopefulleſt wits to that aſinine feaſt of ſowthiſtles and brambles[.]"
- 17 A pen with a short, blunt nib.
- 18 An old and worn horseshoe nail.
- 19 Stub iron.
- 20 The smallest remainder of a smoked cigarette; a butt.
Verb
- 1 To remove most of a tree, bush, or other rooted plant by cutting it close to the ground. transitive
- 2 strike (one's toe) accidentally against an object wordnet
- 3 To remove a plant by pulling it out by the roots. transitive
- 4 clear of weeds by uprooting them wordnet
- 5 To jam, hit, or bump, especially a toe. transitive
"I stubbed my toe trying to find the light switch in the dark."
Show 2 more definitions
- 6 extinguish by crushing wordnet
- 7 pull up (weeds) by their roots wordnet
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
"On a pay stub are mentioned: the gross salary and the net salary."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "stub"?
Common synonyms include: ticket stub, admission stub, billhead, bitter end, book stamp, bookplate.
How do you use "stub" in a sentence?
On a pay stub are mentioned: the gross salary and the net salary.
How do you pronounce "stub"?
Pronounced /stʌb/.
Etymology
From Middle English stubbe (“tree stump”), from Old English stybb, stubb (“tree stump”), from Proto-West Germanic *stubb, from Proto-Germanic *stubbaz (compare Middle Dutch stubbe, Old Norse stubbr, Faroese stubbi (“stub”)), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)tew-; compare steep (“sharp slope”). Doublet of stob. Sense extended in Middle English to similarly shaped objects. Verb sense “strike one’s toe” is recorded 1848; “extinguish a cigarette” 1927.