Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • transitive verb To draw out and twist (a strand of silk or other textile fiber) in preparation for spinning.
  • noun A soft thick nub in yarn that is either an imperfection or purposely set for a desired effect.
  • noun A slightly twisted roll of fiber, as of silk or cotton.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun Loose mud; mire.
  • noun Wool slightly twisted preparatory to spinning, usually that which has been carded.
  • To twist slightly after carding, so as to prepare for spinning: said of woolen yarn.
  • noun A lump or thick piece of cotton which becomes attached to or twisted into the yarn during the process of spinning.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun A roll of wool slightly twisted; a rove; -- called also slubbing.
  • transitive verb To draw out and twist slightly; -- said of slivers of wool.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A small thickened portion or knot found on linen yarn, caused by defects.
  • noun Sludge.
  • noun Fabric fiber produced by slubbing.
  • verb To draw and twist fibers in order to prepare them for spinning.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun soft lump or unevenness in a yarn; either an imperfection or created by design

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Origin unknown.]

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Examples

  • Which one would look better paired with my cotton slub?

    Regretsy – Gag Gift 2010

  • Im glad its different from ‘cotton slub’, no one wants cotton slub on their wedding dress…

    Regretsy – I Don’t 2010

  • Remind me never to buy a wedding dress where the description includes the terms “slub” and “raw dege”.

    Regretsy – I Don’t 2010

  • What the hell does this fat slub know who is weaker or stronger.

    Limbaugh comes out for Obama 2008

  • All were covered or upholstered in blue slub-satin that she suspected was raw silk; a deeper blue carpet covered the floor, and the walls were papered in blue and white stripes.

    red dust Ryn Cricket 2010

  • A speech-impeded or misunderstood/misspelled besmirchment of character “Yo mama, she a slub.”

    Regretsy – I Don’t 2010

  • Dave Griffiths, another huge inspiration, officially joined slub for a gig at Sonar.

    December « 2009 « Alex McLean 2009

  • Tom Armitage wrote a nicewired article interviewing us slub about live coding.

    Transferring « Alex McLean 2009

  • Tom Armitage wrote a nicewired article interviewing us slub about live coding.

    October « 2009 « Alex McLean 2009

  • Dave Griffiths, another huge inspiration, officially joined slub for a gig at Sonar.

    2000 to 2009 « Alex McLean 2009

Comments

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  • 'He felt the textural variation of slubs of chewing gum compressed by decades of traffic' - from Cosmopolis by Don DeLillo

    February 5, 2008

  • Opinions differ on the slub.
    Descriptivists see a useful nub.
    Prescriptivists claim
    The thing is a shame,
    A lump in the line is a flub!

    August 10, 2014