stubby

S1T1U1B3B3Y4
/ˈstʌbi/Ireland, Northern England/ˈstʊbi/

adjective

Abounding with stubs.

Less commonScrabble 13

Meanings

adjectivestubby (comparative stubbier, superlative stubbiest)

comparative stubbier · superlative stubbiest · alternative stubbie

  1. Abounding with stubs.

    Synonyms: squat, stumpy

  2. Like a stub; short, especially cut short, thick and stiff; stunted; stubbed.

    The front-most spines are the shortest, stubbiest, and most forward directed.

    2009, George P. Hansen, Trilobites of Black Cat Mountain, iUniverse, page 249
    3 more examples

    St Cuthbert's stands among trees at one corner of the green, and has a 17th-century bellcote decorated with stone balls and a stubby spire.

    1980, AA Book of British Villages, Drive Publications Ltd, page 174

    The mouth with its bright, shiny grimace exposes a stubby row of teeth, from left to right growing stubbier and stubbier, with more and more cavities.

    1996, Botho Strauß, translated by Roslyn Theobald, Couples, Passerby, page 17

    For instance, long, thin hands generally indicate that a person is creative and intuitive, while shorter, stubbier hands typically connote a hardworking or athletic type of person.

    2003, Katina Z. Jones, The Everything Palmistry Book, page 8
nounstubby (plural stubbies)

plural stubbies · alternative stubbie

  1. AustraliaCanadaUSA small, squat beer bottle.

    Annie looked at him a bit surprised and came in, and he realized she carried a bottle of beer with her. Not a stubby, but a long neck.

    2002, A. S. Finney, Gully Ghost, US: Eloquent Books, page 74
    5 more examples

    While most stubbies looked alike, there was one distinct stubby brought out by Carling-O′Keefe.[…]The era of the stubby was short, however. Although a superior container, it was not chic enough for the 1980s drinker.

    1998, Randy Ray, Mark Kearney, The Great Canadian Trivia, page 201

    Near the memorial were some wine casks and an unopened stubby of beer, whose label was yet to fade, which had been left to slake the thirst of the deceased.

    2004, Michael McGirr, Bypass: The Story of a Road, Pan Macmillan Australia, published 2005, page 117

    Another notable thing that happens this month is the debut of Spycatcher on Star TV.[…]But come Wednesday night, he sits in the TV room with his stubby of Foster′s beer and watches Steve Nolan catch dirty foreigners (called Commies) selling secrets to some Russian organization called the KGB.

    2005, Vikas Swarup, Q & A, Black Swan, published 2006, page 133

    I had everything planned, and later I kept a stubby behind the spare tire of my ′37 Ford until the bottle was better aged than the beer. I don′t know what happened to it but I′m surprised that it didn′t explode with the heat of that summer.

    2008, Albert Drake, The Age of Hot Rods: Essays on Rods, Custom Cars and Their Drivers from the 1950s to Today, US: McFarland & Co, page 45

    A schooner (425ml in Queensland), when you allow for the collar, is not much more beer than a stubby. A stubby of home brew costs me 25 cents.

    2008, Ron Bowden, The Lazy Brewer′s Handbook, Australia: BOOKSnTHAT, page 4

Synonyms & antonyms

adjectiveAbounding with stubs.

More synonyms by meaning

adjectiveshort and blunt

Similar

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

Translations

Bulgarian нисък и набит
  • нисък и набит (nisăk i nabit)like a stub
Czech krátký a tlustý, pahýlovitý
  • krátký a tlustýlike a stub
  • pahýlovitýlike a stub
  • zavalitýlike a stub
Finnish tynkä-, pätkä-
  • tynkä-like a stub
  • pätkä-like a stub
  • katkaistulike a stub
  • tanakkalike a stub
German stummlig, stummelartig
  • stummliglike a stub
  • stummelartiglike a stub
Japanese ずんぐりした
  • ずんぐりした (zunguri-shita)like a stub
Polish krępy
  • krępylike a stub
Russian корена́стый, призе́мистый
  • корена́стый (korenástyj)like a stub
  • призе́мистый (prizémistyj)like a stub
Spanish regordete, rechoncho
  • regordetelike a stub
  • rechoncholike a stub
Turkish küt
  • kütlike a stub
Cite this entry
APA

stubby. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/stubby

MLA

“stubby.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/stubby. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “stubby,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/stubby.

Source: stubby on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.