mobile

¹ American  

[moh-buhl, -beel, -bahyl] / ˈmoʊ bəl, -bil, -baɪl /

adjective

1. capable of moving or being moved readily.

2. Digital Technology. pertaining to or noting a cell phone, usually one with computing ability, or a portable, wireless computing device used while held in the hand, as in

3. utilizing motor vehicles for ready movement.

   a mobile library.

4. Military. permanently equipped with vehicles for transport.

5. flowing freely, as a liquid.

6. changeable or changing easily in expression, mood, purpose, etc..

   a mobile face.

7. quickly responding to impulses, emotions, etc., as the mind.

8. Sociology.

   1. characterized by or permitting the mixing of social groups.

   2. characterized by or permitting relatively free movement from one social class or level to another.

9. of or relating to a mobile.

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noun

1. a piece of sculpture having delicately balanced units constructed of rods and sheets of metal or other material suspended in midair by wire or twine so that the individual parts can move independently, as when stirred by a breeze.

2. mobile phone.

3. Informal. a mobile home.

4. Citizens Band Radio Slang. a vehicle.

Mobile ² American  

[moh-beel, moh-beel] / moʊˈbil, ˈmoʊ bil /

noun

1. a seaport in SW Alabama at the mouth of the Mobile River.

2. a river in SW Alabama, formed by the confluence of the Alabama and Tombigbee rivers. 38 miles (61 km) long.

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-mobile ³ American  

1. a combining form extracted from automobile, occurring as the final element in compounds denoting specialized types of motorized conveyances: snowmobile; especially productive in coinages naming vehicles equipped to procure or deliver objects, provide services, etc., to people without regular access to these: bloodmobile; bookmobile; clubmobile; jazzmobile.

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-mobile ¹ British  

/ məʊˌbiːl /

suffix

1. indicating a vehicle designed for a particular person or purpose

   Popemobile

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Mobile ² British  

/ ˈməʊbiːl, məʊˈbiːl /

noun

1. a port in SW Alabama, on Mobile Bay (an inlet of the Gulf of Mexico): the state's only port and its first permanent settlement, made by French colonists in 1711. Pop: 193 464 (2003 est)

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mobile ³ British  

/ ˈməʊbaɪl /

adjective

1. having freedom of movement; movable

2. changing quickly in expression

   a mobile face

3. sociol (of individuals or social groups) moving within and between classes, occupations, and localities

   upwardly mobile

4. (of military forces) able to move freely and quickly to any given area

5. informal (postpositive) having transport available

   are you mobile tonight?

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noun

1. 1. a sculpture suspended in midair with delicately balanced parts that are set in motion by air currents

   2. ( as modifier ) Compare stabile

      mobile sculpture

2. short for mobile phone

mobile Cultural  

1. A sculpture made up of suspended shapes that move.

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Discover More

Alexander Calder, a twentieth-century American sculptor, is known for his mobiles.

Other Word Forms

• nonmobile adjective
• semimobile adjective
• unmobile adjective

Etymology

Origin of mobile

First recorded in 1450–1500; late Middle English, from Middle French, from Latin, neuter of mōbilis “movable,” contraction of assumed movibilis, equivalent to movi- (stem of movēre “to set in motion, impel, move”) + -bilis adjective suffix; move, -ble

Example Sentences

Because he bought two mobile homes some time ago, and a 2.5-acre lot in the middle of nowhere and started renting them before he retired.

From MarketWatch

Investigators found the 29-year-old had been listening to music on his mobile phone, which displayed a warning that the sound was too loud.

From BBC

The Nvidia chip aims to provide PCs with the kind of efficiency and battery life typically associated with mobile devices, without sacrificing performance.

From The Wall Street Journal

The 2008 survey, which the council said was sent to residents in 2009, included a walk around of the mobile home site.

From BBC

A job posting on its website revealed the mobile ad tech company is hiring a software engineer to design and build the “digital backbone of our next-generation social platform.”

From Barron's