What it means
Grub is plain, filling food, the stuff you go for when you're starving and need your stomach sorted sharpish. Nothing posh, nothing plated up with a little speech. Just proper edible fuel like chips, a butty, a kebab, a pasty, whatever does the job. It can also work as a verb, so you might say we’ll grub later.
Usage examples
"We’ve been on the road all day, I’m starving. Let’s grab some grub from the chippy and call it dinner, yeah?"
"After a long shift we were starving, so we grabbed some grub from the late-night kebab van and ate it on the curb without a word."
"You sorting any grub after the pub or are we just living off crisps till morning?"
"Nipped into the caff for some hot grub because it was freezing and nobody could be bothered cooking."
"You getting any grub in before we head out or are you planning to run on pure vibes till midnight?"
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Where it comes from
It first meant a grub, as in a larva or worm, back in older English. By the 1600s it had already shifted into slang for food or a meal. That slightly rough, earthy flavour stuck around, which is why grub still sounds like filling, no-fuss food rather than anything fancy.
Other ways to say it
Editors of this term
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