stub

• POS: Noun, Verb (usu participle), Verb (transitive)

CIDE DICTIONARY

stub, n. [OE. stubbe, AS. stub, styb; akin to D. stobbe, LG. stubbe, Dan. stub, Sw. stubbe, Icel. stubbr, stubbi; cf. Gr. .].

•  The stump of a tree; that part of a tree or plant which remains fixed in the earth when the stem is cut down; -- applied especially to the stump of a small tree, or shrub.  [1913 Webster]

  "Stubs sharp and hideous to behold."  [1913 Webster]

  "And prickly stubs instead of trees are found."  [1913 Webster]
•  A log; a block; a blockhead.  Milton.  [1913 Webster]
•  The short blunt part of anything after larger part has been broken off or used up; hence, anything short and thick; as, the stub of a pencil, candle, or cigar.  [1913 Webster]
•  A part of a leaf in a check book, after a check is torn out, on which the number, amount, and destination of the check are usually recorded.  [1913 Webster]
•  A pen with a short, blunt nib.  [1913 Webster]
•  A stub nail; an old horseshoe nail; also, stub iron.  [1913 Webster]

Stub end (Mach.), the enlarged end of a connecting rod, to which the strap is fastened. -- Stub iron, iron made from stub nails, or old horseshoe nails, -- used in making gun barrels. -- Stub mortise (Carp.), a mortise passing only partly through the timber in which it is formed. -- Stub nail, an old horseshoe nail; a nail broken off; also, a short, thick nail. -- Stub short, or Stub shot (Lumber Manuf.), the part of the end of a sawn log or plank which is beyond the place where the saw kerf ends, and which retains the plank in connection with the log, until it is split off. -- Stub twist, material for a gun barrel, made of a spirally welded ribbon of steel and stub iron combined.

stub, v. t. 

•  To grub up by the roots; to extirpate; as, to stub up edible roots.  [1913 Webster]

  "What stubbing, plowing, digging, and harrowing is to a piece of land."  [1913 Webster]
•  To remove stubs from; as, to stub land.  [1913 Webster]
•  To strike as the toes, against a stub, stone, or other fixed object.  [1913 Webster]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

stub, n. & v.
--n.
1 the remnant of a pencil or cigarette etc. after use.
2 the counterfoil of a cheque or receipt etc.
3 a stunted tail etc.
4 the stump of a tree, tooth, etc.
5 (attrib.) going only part of the way through (stub-mortise; stub-tenon).
--v.tr. (stubbed, stubbing)
1 strike (one's toe) against something.
2 (usu. foll. by out) extinguish (a lighted cigarette) by pressing the lighted end against something.
3 (foll. by up) grub up by the roots.
4 clear (land) of stubs.

Idiom

stub-axle an axle supporting only one wheel of a pair.

Etymology

OE stub, stubb f. Gmc

THESAURUS

stub

Thule, Ultima Thule, billhead, bitter end, book stamp, bookplate, bottom dollar, boundary, brand, broad arrow, brush, butt, butt end, cachet, carton of cigarettes, cauda, caudal appendage, caudation, check, cig, cigarette, cigarette butt, cigarette case, colophon, counterfoil, countermark, cue, deck of cigarettes, dock, docket, end, extreme, extremity, fag, fag end, fantail, farthest bound, government mark, government stamp, hallmark, imprint, jumping-off place, label, letterhead, limit, logo, logotype, masthead, nib, pigtail, plate, point, pole, price tag, queue, rattail, receipt, registered trademark, remnant, running head, running title, seal, sigil, signet, snipe, stamp, sticker, stump, tag, tag end, tail, tail end, tailpiece, tally, ticket, tip, title page, token, trade name, trademark, trademark name