nobble
Americanverb (used with object)
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to drug or disable (a race horse) to prevent its winning a race.
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to convince (a person) by fraudulent methods; misrepresent or lie to.
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to swindle; defraud.
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to seize (a person); hold for arrest.
verb
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to disable (a racehorse), esp with drugs
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to win over or outwit (a person) by underhand means
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to suborn (a person, esp a juror) by threats, bribery, etc
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to steal; filch
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to get hold of; grab
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to kidnap
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of nobble
First recorded in 1840–50; back formation from nobbler, variant of hobbler ( def. ) (dialectal phrase an 'obbler being taken as a nobbler )
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The pride is especially justified because of the grave problems that once seemed to doom New Orleans to gradual, perpetual decline, and which might have been expected to nobble its recovery.
From Economist • Aug. 20, 2015
The senior officer denied allegations that the man was held and questioned in a bid to "nobble" him and sabotage attempts by Brendan McConville and John Paul Wootton to overturn their convictions.
From BBC • Oct. 16, 2013
It must be tempting to nobble a rival.
From Economist • Aug. 25, 2011
Oakeshott warns: "It is as wrong as it is stupid for anyone in Whitehall to be trying to nobble the Vickers commission even before it has done its interim report."
From The Guardian • Apr. 2, 2011
For the chairman has his own Red Tape Rats to let loose with which to startle the audience and nobble the Press.
From The Confessions of a Caricaturist, Vol. 2 by Furniss, Harry
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
