grubby

Word family

grub·by /ˈɡrʌbi/ adjectiveadj

1 DIRTYfairly dirty 肮脏的，邋遢的

a grubby handkerchief

脏兮兮的手帕

a gang of grubby kids

一群邋遢的孩子

► see thesaurus at dirty

2 BAD BEHAVIOUR OR ACTIONSgrubby behaviour or activity is morally unpleasant 〔行为或活动〕肮脏的，不道德的，卑鄙的

the grubby details of his financial dealings

他那些金融交易中的肮脏细节

3 grubby hands/paws/mitts informal used to talk about someone touching something or becoming involved in it when you do not want them to 肮脏的手/爪子〔用于表示不希望某人触碰某物或卷入某事〕

Keep your grubby paws to yourself!

把你的脏爪子拿开！

I bet he can’t wait to get his grubby hands on my money!

我敢肯定他是迫不及待要把他那双脏手伸向我的钱！

Examples from the Corpus

grubby hands/paws/mitts• The children are fighting under the tank, catching drips like diamonds in their grubby hands.• Benedict imprisoned her closer, oblivious to her grubby hands caught against the pristine whiteness of his neckcloth.• Every grubby penny I can get my grubby hands on, every grubby day of my grubby little life.

—grubbiness noun [uncountableU]

Examples from the Corpus

grubby• And evidence shows that women feel more inhibited by things like not having cleaned their teeth or feeling grubby.• Her coat was grubby and one of the sleeves was torn.• grubby clothes• He knows all about sadness, temptation and the grubby facts of life.• He blew his nose with a grubby handkerchief.• Travelling always made her feel grubby, nomatterhow luxurious it was.• All at once the hotel seemed very small - another small dark grubby place that was locking her in.• As an aggressive, grubby schoolkid and a keen stargazer, I was desperate to be the first to go.• From his back pocket Robert took out a grubby scrap of paper.• Her grubby studio boss just cared about money.• Enter one slightly grubby swan, stage right, to swim nonchalantly beside the boat, incognito.• They loiter outside the big match with fistfuls of grubby tickets priced at many times their face value.• One of the men dons a grubby white coat and a surgical-type cap.

Origin grubby

(1600-1700) → GRUB1; because places full of grubs are dirty

grub·by adjectiveadj

Chinese

Syllable

Corpus