stubble
noun
stub·ble ˈstə-bəl 
often attributive
1
: the basal part of herbaceous plants and especially cereal grasses remaining attached to the soil after harvest
2
: a rough surface or growth resembling stubble
especially : a short growth of beard
stubbled
ˈstə-bəld
adjective stubbly
ˈstə-b(ə-)lē
adjective 
Example Sentences
He ran his hand over his stubble.
Recent Examples on the Web His dark hair and slight stubble complemented his striking blue eyes. 
Carrie Pyle Lawrence, Los Angeles Times, 12 Aug. 2022 Suárez looks like central casting’s version of a race car driver at a cockpit-friendly 5-foot-9 and 166 pounds, with intense brown eyes and an angular face covered in scruffy stubble. Los Angeles Times, 23 June 2022 As suggested by the facial stubble, Asghari's Sergeant Tobias is roguishly trigger-happy and eager to take out Friar, whom Tobias believes is setting off bombs in the city. Bryan Alexander, USA TODAY, 2 July 2022 Golden wheat stood ripe in some strips and in others it had been shorn down to its bright stubble. Eula Biss, The New Yorker, 8 June 2022 The itchy stubble, the irritation, the nicks and cuts - no wonder beards have become trendy in recent years! Grooming Playbook, The Salt Lake Tribune, 10 May 2022 More subsidies for disposing of rice stubble without setting them ablaze, a yearly practice that’s blamed for contributing to the air pollution that blankets New Delhi. Washington Post, 3 Dec. 2021 The product’s rich lather softens the stubble so that the razor shaves closer. Grooming Playbook, The Salt Lake Tribune, 31 Mar. 2022 The lack of stubble on Rock's face in the supposedly high-quality picture also indicates that it was manipulated. Bayliss Wagner, USA TODAY, 31 Mar. 2022 See More
Carrie Pyle Lawrence, Los Angeles Times, 12 Aug. 2022 Suárez looks like central casting’s version of a race car driver at a cockpit-friendly 5-foot-9 and 166 pounds, with intense brown eyes and an angular face covered in scruffy stubble. Los Angeles Times, 23 June 2022 As suggested by the facial stubble, Asghari's Sergeant Tobias is roguishly trigger-happy and eager to take out Friar, whom Tobias believes is setting off bombs in the city. Bryan Alexander, USA TODAY, 2 July 2022 Golden wheat stood ripe in some strips and in others it had been shorn down to its bright stubble. Eula Biss, The New Yorker, 8 June 2022 The itchy stubble, the irritation, the nicks and cuts - no wonder beards have become trendy in recent years! Grooming Playbook, The Salt Lake Tribune, 10 May 2022 More subsidies for disposing of rice stubble without setting them ablaze, a yearly practice that’s blamed for contributing to the air pollution that blankets New Delhi. Washington Post, 3 Dec. 2021 The product’s rich lather softens the stubble so that the razor shaves closer. Grooming Playbook, The Salt Lake Tribune, 31 Mar. 2022 The lack of stubble on Rock's face in the supposedly high-quality picture also indicates that it was manipulated. Bayliss Wagner, USA TODAY, 31 Mar. 2022 See More Word History
Etymology
Middle English stuble, from Anglo-French estuble, from Latin stupula stalk, straw, alteration of stipula — more at stipule
First Known Use
14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Phrases Containing stubble
Kids Definition
stubble
noun
stub·ble ˈstə-bəl
1
: a short growth of beard
2
: the short ends of crops and especially cereal grasses remaining attached to the ground after harvest
stubbled
adjective
as in stubbly
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- stubbly
- bearded
- whiskered
- bewhiskered
- mustachioed
- moustachioed
- downy
- hirsute
- shaggy
- fuzzy
- fluffy
- unshorn
- bristly
- brushy
- hairy
- silky
- furred
- nappy
- woolly
- furry
- linty
- fleecy
- cottony
- wooly
- rough
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- bald
- hairless
- shorn
- smooth
- glabrous
- shaved
- shaven
- beardless
- furless