Word Study
nub
WORDNET DICTIONARY
Noun nub has 3 senses
- nub(n = noun.shape) nubble - a small lump or protuberance; Array is a kind of bulge, bump, excrescence, extrusion, gibbosity, gibbousness, hump, jut, prominence, protrusion, protuberance, swelling
- nub(n = noun.object) stub - a small piece; "a nub of coal"; "a stub of a pencil" has particulars: nubbin
- nub(n = noun.cognition) center, centre, core, essence, gist, heart, heart and soul, inwardness, kernel, marrow, meat, nitty-gritty, pith, substance, sum - the choicest or most essential or most vital part of some idea or experience; "the gist of the prosecutor's argument"; "the heart and soul of the Republican Party"; "the nub of the story" is a kind of cognitive content, content, mental object
Derived form adjective nubby1
is a kind of part, piece
has particulars: bare bones, hypostasis, haecceity, quiddity, quintessence, stuff
CIDE DICTIONARY
nub, v. t. [Cf. Knob.].
To push; to nudge; also, to beckon. [1913 Webster]
nub, n.
A jag, or snag; a knob; a protuberance; also, the point or gist, as of a story. [1913 Webster]
OXFORD DICTIONARY
nub, n.
1 the point or gist (of a matter or story).
2 a small lump, esp. of coal.
3 a stub; a small residue.
1 the point or gist (of a matter or story).
2 a small lump, esp. of coal.
3 a stub; a small residue.
Derivative
nubby adj.
Etymology
app. var. of knub, f. MLG knubbe, knobbe KNOB
THESAURUS
nub
axiom, axis, bench mark, bilge, blain, bleb, blister, blob, boss, bow, bubble, bulb, bulge, bulla, bump, bunch, burl, button, cahot, cardinal point, center, center of action, center of gravity, centroid, centrum, chief thing, chine, climax, clump, condyle, convex, core, cornerstone, crisis, critical point, crux, dead center, distillate, distillation, dowel, ear, elixir, epicenter, essence, essential, essential matter, fabric, feel, finish, flange, flap, flower, focus, fundamental, gall, gist, gnarl, grain, granular texture, gravamen, great point, handle, heart, high point, hill, hub, hump, hunch, hypostasis, important thing, indentation, inner essence, issue, jog, joggle, kernel, keystone, knob, knot, knub, knur, knurl, landmark, lip, loop, lump, main point, main thing, marrow, material, material point, matter, meat, medium, medulla, metacenter, middle, milestone, mole, mountain, nap, nave, navel, nevus, nubbin, nubble, nucleus, nuts and bolts, omphalos, papilloma, peg, pile, pit, pith, pivot, pock, postulate, principle, protuberance, quid, quiddity, quintessence, real issue, rib, ridge, ring, salient point, sap, shag, short, shoulder, sine qua non, soul, spine, spirit, storm center, structure, stud, stuff, style, substance, substantive point, sum and substance, surface, surface texture, tab, texture, the bottom line, the nitty-gritty, the point, tubercle, tubercule, turning point, umbilicus, upshot, verruca, vesicle, wale, wart, weave, welt, woof
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