nub
noun
ˈnəb 
1
: knob, lump
2
: nubbin
3
: gist, point
the nub of the problem
Synonyms
- blob
- chunk
- clod
- clot
- clump
- dollop
- glob
- gob
- gobbet
- hunk
- knob
- lump
- nubble
- nugget
- wad
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
The dog chewed his bone down to a nub. The shoes have little nubs on the bottom that prevent you from slipping.
Recent Examples on the Web More and more flies started buzzing around his nub. 
Jonathan Edwards, Washington Post, 12 Sep. 2022 Is permitting reform being sawed and sanded down to a nub? The Editorial Board, WSJ, 11 Sep. 2022 Or the eyeliner that's been sharpened down to no more than a nub. Sophia Panych, Allure, 28 Feb. 2022 This underfed mangelike creature was the victim of an animal attack or a lame attempt at tail-docking as the bony nub and flesh is all that remained of what was once the animal appendage. cleveland, 7 June 2022 Nadal often kicks clean the nub of tape in the middle of the baseline before heading to his chair for a changeover. New York Times, 29 May 2022 The nub is that apprenticeships are jobs and only employers are capable of creating them. Ryan Craig, Forbes, 15 Apr. 2022 Nearer the ocean, on the Praia da Barra, was the worn pencil nub of the Barra lighthouse, the tallest in Portugal. Washington Post, 9 Mar. 2022 One existing theory suggests that, in order to produce consciousness, this small nub syncs up the various rhythms of the cortex. Max G. Levy, Wired, 11 May 2021 See More
Jonathan Edwards, Washington Post, 12 Sep. 2022 Is permitting reform being sawed and sanded down to a nub? The Editorial Board, WSJ, 11 Sep. 2022 Or the eyeliner that's been sharpened down to no more than a nub. Sophia Panych, Allure, 28 Feb. 2022 This underfed mangelike creature was the victim of an animal attack or a lame attempt at tail-docking as the bony nub and flesh is all that remained of what was once the animal appendage. cleveland, 7 June 2022 Nadal often kicks clean the nub of tape in the middle of the baseline before heading to his chair for a changeover. New York Times, 29 May 2022 The nub is that apprenticeships are jobs and only employers are capable of creating them. Ryan Craig, Forbes, 15 Apr. 2022 Nearer the ocean, on the Praia da Barra, was the worn pencil nub of the Barra lighthouse, the tallest in Portugal. Washington Post, 9 Mar. 2022 One existing theory suggests that, in order to produce consciousness, this small nub syncs up the various rhythms of the cortex. Max G. Levy, Wired, 11 May 2021 See More Word History
Etymology
alteration of English dialect knub, probably from Low German knubbe
First Known Use
1696, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Phrases Containing nub
Kids Definition
nub
noun
ˈnəb
1
: a small rounded part that sticks out from something
These shoes have nubs on the bottom to prevent slipping.
2
: a small piece or end that remains after something has been removed or worn away
a nub of pencil
nubs
noun
1
as in clumps
a small uneven mass throw a nub of butter into the frying pan Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- clumps
- chunks
- hunks
- wads
- knobs
- lumps
- globs
- beads
- blobs
- clods
- gobs
- pieces
- nuggets
- nubbles
- clots
- patches
- gobbets
- dollops
- globules
- bits
- particles
- chips
- drops
- portions
- granules
- nubbins
- crumbs
- blocks
- bodies
- scraps
- morsels
- bulks
2
as in roots
the central part or aspect of something under consideration the nub of the argument is that the intelligence agencies failed the country Synonyms & Similar Words
- roots
- hearts
- cores
- essences
- kernels
- nubbins
- points
- meats
- sums
- nuclei
- pivots
- bottom lines
- nets
- piths
- centerpieces
- gists
- keynotes
- nucleuses
- bullseyes
- subjects
- cruxes
- cruces
- bull's-eyes
- themes
- meat and potatoes
- directions
- substances
- tenors
- bodies
- contents
- drifts
- courses
- hypotheses
- theses
- propositions
- purports