a short remaining piece, as of a pencil, candle, or cigar.
(in a checkbook, receipt book, etc.) the inner end of each leaf, for keeping a record of the content of the part filled out and torn away.
the returned portion of a ticket.
the end of a fallen tree, shrub, or plant left fixed in the ground; stump.
something having a short, blunt shape, especially a short-pointed, blunt pen.
stub nail.
something having the look of incomplete or stunted growth, as a horn of an animal.
Bridge. a part-score.
verb (used with object),stubbed,stub·bing.
to strike accidentally against a projecting object: I stubbed my toe against the step.
to extinguish the burning end of (a cigarette or cigar) by crushing it against a solid object (often followed by out): He stubbed out the cigarette in the ashtray.
to clear of stubs, as land.
to dig up by the roots; grub up (roots).
Origin of stub
1
before 1000; (noun) Middle English stubb(e), Old English stubb tree stump; cognate with Middle Low German, Middle Dutch stubbe,Old Norse stubbi; akin to Old Norse stūfr stump; (v.) late Middle English stubben to dig up by the roots, clear stumps from (land), derivative of the noun
I felt there were a lot of ways that I could spend the stub end of my life cycle that were more productive.
James Cameron Dives into the Ocean's Abyss|Andrew Romano|July 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Instead, they were forced to compromise by having him stub out a cigarette.
From ‘American Hustle’ to ‘Saving Mr. Banks,’ Why Is Hollywood Hooked On Embellishing the Truth?|Marina Watts, Marlow Stern|January 8, 2014|DAILY BEAST
I used to stub my toe so; you ought to recollect me by that.
Back Home|Eugene Wood
Bennie was already dressed, and Zephyr, throwing the stub of his cigarette through the open window, followed him to the kitchen.
Blue Goose|Frank Lewis Nason
He relighted his stub of cigar and bent proud gaze on the bird.
The Skipper and the Skipped|Holman Day
A stub left on a trunk or large branch does not heal, but soon begins to rot at the end where the heartwood is exposed.
Apple Growing|M. C. Burritt
There they sat far into the night, with old envelopes and Keogh's stub of blue pencil between them.
Cabbages and Kings|O. Henry
British Dictionary definitions for stub
stub
/ (stʌb) /
noun
a short piece remaining after something has been cut, removed, etca cigar stub
the residual piece or section of a receipt, ticket, cheque, etc
US and Canadianthe part of a cheque, postal order, receipt, etc, detached and retained as a record of the transactionAlso called (in Britain) counterfoil
any short projection or blunted end
the stump of a tree or plant
verbstubs, stubbingorstubbed(tr)
to strike (one's toe, foot, etc) painfully against a hard surface
(usually foll by out)to extinguish (a cigarette or cigar) by pressing the end against a surface
to clear (land) of stubs
to dig up (the roots) of (a tree or bush)
Word Origin for stub
Old English stubb; related to Old Norse stubbi, Middle Dutch stubbe, Greek stupos stem, stump