grub along
C1 informal intransitive
In simple words
To just barely manage to live on very little money or resources.
Literal meaning: To grub (dig for food like an animal) along — scraping by for survival.
Meanings
1 C1
idiomatic
informal
To manage to live or survive on very limited resources, especially money.
"After losing his job, he grubbed along on savings and the occasional odd job for nearly a year."
Usage notes
Largely archaic or dialectal British English. Not commonly used in modern everyday speech. 'Grub' relates to the old sense of grubbing around for food. Learners are unlikely to encounter this in modern contexts but may find it in older literature.
Commonly used with
somehow barely manage survive
Forms
Base
grub along
I/you/we/they
3rd person
grubs along
he/she/it
Past simple
grubed along
yesterday
Past participle
grubed along
have + pp
-ing form
grubing along
continuous
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Synonyms
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