grub

noun

• 1the larva of an insect, especially a beetle: my onions are ruined by small grubs eating the roots
• a maggot or small caterpillar.

• 2 [mass noun] informal food:a popular bar serving excellent pub grub

verb (grubs, grubbing, grubbed)

• 1dig or poke about in soil:the damage done to pastures by badgers grubbing for worms
• [with object] (grub something up/out) remove something from the earth by digging it up:many miles of hedgerows were grubbed up

• 2search in a clumsy and unmethodical manner:I began grubbing about in the waste-paper basket to find the envelope

• 3work hard, especially at a dull or demeaning task:she has achieved independence without having to grub for it
• [with object] achieve or acquire (something) by doing demeaning work:they were grubbing a living from garbage pails