Yes, we use it, but it is not generally used outside particular phrases/pairings with certain nouns. Stub is both a verb and a noun. The noun "stub" is the remaining short bit of something bigger (e.g a tree stub, a cigarette stub, a pencil stub). Therefore, the verb "to stub" means to take something in its full form and shorten it. In the case of a cigarette you would put it out/extinguish it by stubbing it. The other usage is when you accidentally hit your toe against something (i.e I stubbed my toe on the chair leg). In this sense it can be broadly understood as hitting one blunt object (e.g a toe or a cigarette) against something else. As I say the verb is only applicable to certain scenarios.

To stub out a cigarette is to extinguish it by pressing it into an ashtray. This word I found by doing a search "stub definition," which tends to more up to date. It can also be to "stub your toe," which happens when you catch your toe on anything hard and hurts a lot.

Hey Bunch, The word ''stub'' means ''the usually short end remaining after something bigger has been used up.'' For example: a pencil stub; a cigarette stub. The phrasal verb ''stub out'' means ''to extinguish some cigarette, cigar, or similar smoking material by stamping the burning end against a surface. In your example, an ashtray is the container / receptacle for the ash from smokers' cigarettes. Here are some other examples for you: 1) ''There were no ashtrays around, so I stubbed out the cigarette on the heel of my shoe.'' 2) ''If you had told me the smoke from my cigar was bothering you, I would have stubbed it out.'' 3) ''He stubbed his cigar out and tossed it into the street.'' Hope that helps!!!

Yes, stub or cigarette stub is another word for the filter part of a cigarette. When you push the filter part into the ashtray to extinguish it when finished, it's called stubbing out the cigarette. Stub out only applies to this situation for cigarettes. You may even find people DON'T say stub out for cigars or pipes because they don't have the filter part in a cigarette.