gob

¹ American  

[gob] / gɒb /

noun

1. a mass or lump.

2. Informal. gobs, a large quantity.

   gobs of money.

3. Also called goaf.  Mining. waste or barren material.

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gob ² American  

[gob] / gɒb /

noun

Slang.

1. a sailor, especially a seaman in the U.S. Navy.

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gob ³ American  

[gob] / gɒb /

noun

Chiefly British Slang.

1. the mouth.

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gob ⁴ American  

[gob] / gɒb /

verb (used without object)

gobbed, gobbing

1. gab.

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gob ¹ British  

/ ɡɒb /

noun

1. a lump or chunk, esp of a soft substance

2. informal (often plural) a great quantity or amount

3. mining

   1. waste material such as clay, shale, etc

   2. a worked-out area in a mine often packed with this

4. a lump of molten glass used to make a piece of glassware

5. informal a globule of spittle or saliva

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verb

1. informal (intr) to spit

gob ² British  

/ ɡɒb /

noun

1. slang an enlisted ordinary seaman in the US Navy

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gob ³ British  

/ ɡɒb /

noun

1. a slang word (esp Brit) for the mouth

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Etymology

Origin of gob¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English gobbe, variant of gobet “a mouthful, lump”; see gobbet

Origin of gob²

An Americanism dating back to 1910–15; origin uncertain

Origin of gob³

First recorded in 1540–50; perhaps from Gaelic gob “mouth, beak”

Origin of gob⁴

First recorded in 1680–85; cf. gabble ( def. )

Explanation

A gob is a lump, blob, or chunk of something. A gob of pizza dough has to be flattened into a large circle before you can top it with sauce and cheese and bake it in the oven. A gob can be a hunk of something slimy or yucky — you might avoid stepping on an unidentified gob on the sidewalk. You can also eat a gob of cookie dough or mold a gob of clay. Roald Dahl introduced the Everlasting Gobstopper in his novel "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" as a form of candy that would last forever. A more old fashioned meaning of the word gob is "a sailor." While the origin of this kind of gob is a mystery, the "lump" meaning comes from gobbet, "fragment," rooted in the Old French gobet, "piece or mouthful."

Example Sentences

We didn’t have Gob yet either, and Peter said, “Mitch, you don’t have the brother and you don’t have the mother. This is how pilots go away.”

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 14, 2024

Because Gob is less energy efficient than pure coal, West Virginians have lost millions of dollars in excess electricity fees over the years.

From Salon • Mar. 29, 2022

Gob, an acronym for “garbage of bituminous,” is waste coal — low-quality material dug from a mine that is mixed with rock and clay, making it harder and less efficient to burn.

From Seattle Times • Mar. 27, 2022

The third Bluth brother, Gob, still wavers back and forth on whether he should say he’s gay, to help his magic career.

From The Verge • Mar. 13, 2019

Gob, he golloped it down like old boots and his tongue hanging out of him a yard long for more.

From Ulysses by Joyce, James

Related Words

• aggregation
• great deal