stub

/stʌb/

//stʌb// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"stub" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“stub” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #26,270 in English word frequency and used as a noun.

#26,270
frequency rank, English
4
letters
6
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Something blunted, stunted, or cut short, such as stubble or a stump.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

stub vs su
50% similar
stub vs sun
50% similar
stub vs sub
75% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for stub
PropertyValue
Headwordstub
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/stʌb/
Letters4
Frequency rank#26,270
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “stub” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). stub lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for stub is 4 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /stʌb/. Corpus data places it at rank #26,270 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 15 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for stub, with forms such as "sstub", "stbu", and "sttub". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "su", "sun", "sub", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English stubbe (“tree stump”), from Old English stybb, stubb (“tree stump”), from Proto-West Germanic *stubb, from Proto-Germanic *stubbaz (compare Middle Dutch stubbe, Old Norse stubbr, Faroese stubbi (“stub”)), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)tew… The correct English form is stub, spelled S-T-U-B.

Definition

  1. 1
    Something blunted, stunted, or cut short, such as stubble or a stump.
  2. 2
    A piece of certain paper items, designed to be torn off and kept for record or identification purposes.
  3. 3
    A placeholder procedure that has the signature of the planned procedure but does not yet implement the intended behavior.
  4. 4
    A procedure that translates requests from external systems into a format suitable for processing and then submits those requests for processing.
  5. 5
    A row heading in a table (with horizontal reference, whereas a column heading has vertical reference).
  6. 6
    An article providing only minimal information and intended for later development.
  7. 7
    A length of transmission line or waveguide that is connected at one end only.
  8. 8
    The remaining part of the docked tail of a dog
  9. 9
    An unequal first or last interest calculation period, as a part of a financial swap contract
  10. 10
    A log or block of wood.
  11. 11
    A blockhead.
  12. 12
    A pen with a short, blunt nib.
  13. 13
    An old and worn horseshoe nail.
  14. 14
    Stub iron.
  15. 15
    The smallest remainder of a smoked cigarette; a butt.

Etymology

From Middle English stubbe (“tree stump”), from Old English stybb, stubb (“tree stump”), from Proto-West Germanic *stubb, from Proto-Germanic *stubbaz (compare Middle Dutch stubbe, Old Norse stubbr, Faroese stubbi (“stub”)), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)tew-; compare steep (“sharp slope”). Doublet of stob. Sense extended in Middle English to similarly shaped objects. Verb sense “strike one’s toe” is recorded 1848; “extinguish a cigarette” 1927.

This word in other languages

tocón(Español)souche(Français)Stummel(Deutsch)talão(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: sstub,stbu,sttub,stubb,sutb,tsub

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of stub - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

sstub1stbu2sttub1stubb1sutb2tsub2
Edit distance from "stub"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "stub"?
"stub" is spelled S-T-U-B. The IPA pronunciation is /stʌb/.
What does "stub" mean?
As a noun, "stub" means: Something blunted, stunted, or cut short, such as stubble or a stump.
What words are commonly confused with "stub"?
"stub" is commonly confused with "su", "sun", "sub". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "stub"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "stub" is /stʌb/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "stub"?
From Middle English stubbe (“tree stump”), from Old English stybb, stubb (“tree stump”), from Proto-West Germanic *stubb, from Proto-Germanic *stubbaz (compare Middle Dutch stubbe, Old Norse stubbr, Faroese stubbi (“stub”)), from Proto-Indo-Europe... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “stub”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is S-T-U-B - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /stʌb/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “su” - see the side-by-side comparison. stub vs su
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list