Grub Means a Larva and Also Food
A grub is an insect larva. The slang sense meaning food came from digging for them.
A grub is an insect larva, and informally food; to grub is to dig. The senses connect through digging: to grub is to root in the earth, a grub is what you find when you do, and the food sense probably came from birds grubbing for them — the word for the search became the word for the meal. *Grub Street* was a real London street of poor writers, and the name still means hack journalism two centuries after the street was renamed.
- An insect larva. *A fat grub.*
- Food (informal). *Get some grub.*
- To dig. *Grubbing up roots.*
- Grubby — dirty. *Grubby hands.*
- Middle English — *grubben*. *The source.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | grub | A grub. |
| Plural | grubs | Grubs. |
| Verb | grub | Grubbing. |
| Adjective | grubby | Grubby. |
| Compound | Grub Street | Grub Street. |
- A grub curled under the bark.Larva.
- The grub was excellent.Food.
- They grubbed up the hedge.Digging.
Grub Street
- A real London street, near Moorfields
- Known for impoverished writers and cheap publishing
- Samuel Johnson defined it in his dictionary of 1755
- Renamed Milton Street in 1830
- The name survives as a term for hack writing
Middle English *grubben*, to dig, of Germanic origin. The food sense is from the 1600s.
Why does grub mean food?
From digging. To grub is to root in the earth for something, and the word for the search became a word for the meal.
Was Grub Street real?
Yes, a London street known for poor writers. It was renamed Milton Street in 1830 but the phrase outlived it.