grubby
17
1.4
- adjective
- /ˈɡrʌbi/
:
sucio
- After playing outside all day, the children came back home looking quite grubby with dirt on their clothes.
- grubby hands
- grubby faces
- grubby jeans
They don't get to get their grubby little thumbprints all over it.
- They don't get to get their grubby little thumbprints all over it.
Examples
-
I found myself a table in a vacant room that looked grubby and bleak.
Fiction book (1992) -
We went to a grubby little motel room.
-
All my makeup is a little bit grubby actually.
-
I'm very grubby, and I'm rather tired.
-
The place is grubby, and the food turns out to be overpriced, microwaved mush.
Fiction book (1991) -
Beneath his array jacket is a grubby sweatshirt with the familiar yellow-and-black logo.
Fiction book (1992) -
The old sofa in the corner was grubby and in need of a thorough clean to remove the stains.
-
He noticed his hands were grubby after working in the garden, so he washed them before cooking.
Synonyms
525
1.0
Not clean or covered with dirt
183
1.5
Very dirty and covered with mud or dirt
73
1.1
Covered in mud and hard to walk on
23
4.6
Dark and dirty so it does not look bright
22
3.7
Covered in thick dirt that makes something look and feel dirty
9
4.8
Dirty and covered with thick, stuck-on dirt
7
3.2
Dirty and covered in mud
4
7.0
Dirty and untidy, often wet after being in rain or mud
2
8.4
Looks dirty and unpleasant, often like a shabby room or shop
1
2.5
Not clean because it has mud or grease on it
1
4.5
Dirty and covered with tiny living things that can make you sick
Covered thickly with dark dirt or soot
A place or surface that is wet, muddy and looks dirty and messy
Antonyms
Compounds
How Dirty
Surface Forms
Morphology
Etymology
Grubby comes from the old word grub, which meant 'to dig' and also named a small 'young insect'. If something has been in the dirt or touched grubs, it becomes 'dirty'. So grubby means 'dirty' or needing cleaning.