grub up
C1 neutral separable transitive
In simple words
To dig plants or tree stumps out of the ground completely — or (very informally) to find or prepare some food.
Literal meaning: To grub (dig like an animal rooting around) something up from the ground.
Meanings
1 C1 neutral
To dig up plants, stumps, or roots from the ground, clearing the land.
"The farmer grubbed up the old orchard to plant a new crop of wheat."
Grammar: separable
Usage notes
The gardening/farming sense is more established. The informal food sense ('grub' as slang for food, e.g. 'grub's up!') is common in British English but is arguably a different use of 'grub.' Context usually makes the meaning clear.
Commonly used with
stumps roots weeds hedgerows food garden
Forms
Base
grub up
I/you/we/they
3rd person
grubs up
he/she/it
Past simple
grubed up
yesterday
Past participle
grubed up
have + pp
-ing form
grubing up
continuous
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Synonyms
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