as in laboring
to devote serious and sustained effort
grubbing away at the yard work before the first snow of the season
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Recent Examples of grubbing
Released in 1958, Attack told of a wealthy heiress, fresh from a stint at a mental institution, who is turned into a giantess and then deals with her philandering husband and his no-good, money-grubbing floozy.
—
Borys Kit, HollywoodReporter, 9 Jan. 2026
Borys Kit, HollywoodReporter, 9 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for grubbing
Verb
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In the summer of 2024, UNICEF’s representative in Congo suggested that 361,000 children might be laboring in mines in southern Congo, though this number seems implausibly high and drew quick opprobrium from Congolese NGOs that work on the issue.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
22 Jan. 2026
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What viewers didn’t see was the 40 hours Daniels spent laboring on the project from inside a bomb shelter during a 2025 missile attack in Kyiv.—
Matt Donnelly,
Variety,
21 Jan. 2026
Verb
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What started off as a striving novelty turned into something genuinely useful, and YouTube viewers took notice.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
31 Jan. 2026
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This computer software company is striving to make Linux more profitable, stable and secure by changing the way data centers and hosting companies use the technology.—
Laura Begley Bloom,
Forbes.com,
29 Jan. 2026
Verb
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While a win over struggling Rutgers, which has lost five in a row, isn’t the biggest addition to USC’s résumé, every win in Big Ten play is critical for the Trojans, who hope to build their case for an NCAA tournament berth.—
Sean Campbell,
Los Angeles Times,
1 Feb. 2026
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Our state government is struggling to pass audits, electric rates are rising and, despite Moore’s sunny pronouncements, the cost of rebuilding the Key Bridge has exploded from less than 2 billion to more than 5 billion dollars.—
Colin Pascal,
Baltimore Sun,
1 Feb. 2026
Verb
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In Seeking Shelter, Jeff Hobbs exposes the scourge of homelessness that’s tearing apart working families.—
Gabrielle Bellot,
Literary Hub,
2 Feb. 2026
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The Las Vegas Raiders are working toward finalizing an agreement to make Seattle Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak their head coach, a person with knowledge of the discussions said Sunday.—
MARK ANDERSON,
Arkansas Online,
2 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Grubbing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/grubbing. Accessed 2 Feb. 2026.
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