stubby

adjective

stub·​by ˈstə-bē How to pronounce stubby (audio)
stubbier; stubbiest
1
: abounding with stubs
2
a
: resembling a stub : being short and thick
stubby fingers
b
: being short and thickset : squat
c
: being short, broad, or blunt (as from use or wear)
an old stubby pencil

Examples of stubby in a Sentence

hands with thick stubby fingers My dog has a short stubby tail.
Recent Examples on the Web There are rhyming forms all over the canvas: triangles, crescents, spiky starbursts and tongues, stubby fingers and egg-like heads with open mouths. Sebastian Smee, Washington Post, 15 Mar. 2024 More recent evidence found that the dinosaur might have had stubby legs and a paddle-like tail and lived in or around water instead. Elizabeth Gamillo, Discover Magazine, 6 Mar. 2024 There's a launch-control position for the stubby metal-console shift lever, but no track setting on the manettino. Ezra Dyer, Car and Driver, 7 Mar. 2023 Leave your bike outside and meander through the sloping hills covered in stubby graves, statues of veiled angels, and grand mausoleums. Francesca Carington, Condé Nast Traveler, 18 Jan. 2024 Modern dogs have stubby snouts and ultra-expressive eyes; their ears flop, their tails wag. Katherine J. Wu, The Atlantic, 16 Jan. 2024 Jablonski wondered whether the stubby wings of Caudipteryx may have allowed the little dinosaur to use flush displays as a hunting tactic—and whether the behavior may have facilitated the development of full-fledged wings. Meghan Bartels, Scientific American, 25 Jan. 2024 Salt Lake City has serious mountains, mountains that make Vermont’s seem stubby. Brian T. Allen, National Review, 20 Jan. 2024 Pheasants have stubby wings and have to work hard to get their bodies off the ground. Phil Bourjaily, Field & Stream, 3 Jan. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'stubby.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of stubby was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near stubby

Cite this Entry

“Stubby.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/stubby. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

stubby

adjective
stub·​by ˈstəb-ē How to pronounce stubby (audio)
: resembling a stub especially in shortness and broadness
stubby fingers

More from Merriam-Webster on stubby

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