From Middle English grubben, grobben, from Old English *grubbian, from Proto-West Germanic *grubb-, from Proto-Germanic *grubb- (compare Middle Dutch grobben, Old High German grubilōn, German grübeln), from Proto-Germanic *grub- (see *grabaną).

The noun sense of "larva" is from Middle English grub, grubbe, grobbe, crubbe and may derive from the notion of "digging insect" from the verb above, or from the uncertainly related Middle English grub.

• IPA: /ɡɹʌb/
• (Northern England, Ireland) IPA: /ɡɹʊb/

grub

1. (countable) An insect at an immature stage of its life cycle.

   Synonyms: larva

2. (uncountable, slang) Food.

   Synonyms: Thesaurus:food

   pub grub

3. (Australia, slang) A dirty person.
4. (Australia, slang) A despicable person; a lowlife.
5. (obsolete) A short, thick man; a dwarf.
   • 1609, Richard Carew, The Survey of Cornwall. […], new edition, London: […] B. Law, […]; Penzance, Cornwall: J. Hewett, published 1769, →OCLC ↗:

     John Romane, a short clownish grub, would bear the whole carcase of an ox, yet never tugged with him.

• French: larve
• German: Larve, Wurm
• Italian: larva, bruco
• Portuguese: larva
• Russian: личи́нка
• Spanish: larva, verme

• French: bouffe
• German: Fressalien, Futter
• Italian: sbobba
• Portuguese: gororoba
• Russian: харчи́
• Spanish: manduca, manducatoria, condumio, papeo, morfi

grub (grubs, present participle grubbing; simple past and past participle grubbed)

1. To scavenge or in some way scrounge, typically for food.
2. (ambitransitive) To dig; to dig up by the roots; to root out by digging; often followed by up.

   to grub up trees, rushes, or sedge

   • 1846, Julius Hare, The Mission of the Comforter:

     They do not attempt to grub up the root of sin.

   • [1898], J[ohn] Meade Falkner, Moonfleet, London; Toronto, Ont.: Jonathan Cape, published 1934, →OCLC ↗:

     Yet there was no time to be lost if I was ever to get out alive, and so I groped with my hands against the side of the grave until I made out the bottom edge of the slab, and then fell to grubbing beneath it with my fingers.

3. (slang, dated, transitive) To supply with food.
4. (slang, dated) To eat.
   • 1864 May – 1865 November, Charles Dickens, Our Mutual Friend. […], volume (please specify |volume=I or II), London: Chapman and Hall, […], published 1865, →OCLC ↗:

     "John dear , we must give this little fellow his supper , you know ."
     “ Of course we must , my darling . "
     “ He has been grubbing and grubbing at school, ” said Bella

• grave
• groove