How to pronounce grub
Say it like GRUHB. Grub is a single syllable, so the whole word carries the stress.
Click the play button next to American or British to hear how to pronounce grub. Choose Slow to hear each sound clearly.
- GRUHB
- Main stress
- Lighter stress
- Unstressed
Grub pronunciation, sound by sound
Read the parts left to right, then blend them together without pausing.
- GRUHBSay this part loudest and longest. The vowel is the "u" in cup.
American vs British pronunciation of grub
American and British speakers say grub in essentially the same way: /ɡrʌb/ in the US and /ɡrʌb/ in the UK.
British respelling: GRUHB.
What does grub mean?
- An insect, especially a beetle, at an immature stage of its life cycle.
- Food.“pub grub”
- A dirty person.
- To scavenge or in some way scrounge, typically for food.
- To dig; to dig up by the roots; to root out by digging; often followed by up.“to grub up trees, rushes, or sedge”
- To supply with food.
Where does grub come from?
The noun sense of "larva" is from Middle English grub, grubbe, grobbe, crubbe and may derive from the notion of "digging insect" from the verb above, or from the uncertainly related Middle English grub (“dwarfish fellow”).
Similar and opposite words
Similar meaning
Words that rhyme with grub
Practicing rhymes is a quick way to lock in the vowel sound of grub.
Questions about saying grub
How do you pronounce grub?
Say GRUHB. The American pronunciation is /ɡrʌb/. In British English it is /ɡrʌb/. Press play above to hear it at normal speed or slowly.
How many syllables are in grub?
Grub is a single syllable, so the whole word carries the stress. Broken into parts: GRUHB.
Do Americans and Brits say grub the same way?
Almost exactly. The American form is /ɡrʌb/ and the British form is /ɡrʌb/, so you can use either pronunciation with any listener.