bobby
noun
a policeman.
bobby
1 American
[bob-ee]
/ ˈbɒb i /
noun
British Informal.
-
bobbies
plural
Bobby
2
American
[bob-ee]
/ ˈbɒb i /
Or
Bobbie
noun
bobby
British
/ ˈbɒbɪ /
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of bobby
1835–45; special use of Bobby, for Sir Robert Peel, who set up the Metropolitan Police system of London in 1828
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.
See Examples For:
William Wilson, a local police detective, was appointed as coroner's officer to deal with the situation - and did so in a manner most unlike a traditional bobby.
From BBC ● Apr. 25, 2026
“It’s a visual of innocence for this girl to wear these grown-up shoes with a heel, and then pair them with these youthful bobby socks,” he explained of Dorothy.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 24, 2025
He met his wife, Mary Lou, in 1956, brunette and pretty, wearing bobby socks at a fraternity mixer at Michigan State.
From Salon ● Nov. 14, 2024
But Schwartz told me that he sees even this kind of damage most often when people use bobby pins or small spatulas to clean their ears.
From Slate ● Oct. 15, 2023
“A lot of the girls aren’t into protesting or anything, but they’re all going to hate the metal detectors once they’re in. Every bobby pin they wear is going to set it off, right?”
From "Anger Is a Gift" by Mark Oshiro
What Bobby Moore and Sir Bobby Charlton achieved, nobody in an England shirt has done since.
From BBC ● Oct. 5, 2026
Bobby Kennedy’s work for social justice was rooted in his Catholicism.
From Salon ● Sep. 30, 2026
By Bobby Finger and Lindsey Weber Crown, $33 If you buy books linked on our site, The Times may earn a commission from Bookshop.org, whose fees support independent bookstores.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 28, 2026
Bobby Pulido: I was a political science major in college.
From Slate ● Sep. 28, 2026
“What do we do when…,” Bobby Kennedy said, forming his thoughts on the fly.
From "Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown" by Steve Sheinkin
"We haven't got bobbies on the beat anymore but what you've got is that whole community working together, replacing that bobby-on-the-beat approach," she says.
From BBC ● Dec. 28, 2024
More than 10,000 police officers will be on duty Monday, with London bobbies supplemented by reinforcements from all of Britain’s 43 police forces.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 18, 2022
They’re happier and sharper, and the rooftop concert crackles, down to McCartney ridiculing the bobbies who shut them down.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 27, 2021
Rather than stopping the prank, the bobbies simply insisted the Americans don life jackets and be accompanied by a police launch.
From Washington Post ● Jul. 3, 2016
The buttons is all well enough, but blue reminds me so of the bobbies that I don’t think I could surwive it long—indeed I don’t!”
From My Doggie and I by R. M. (Robert Michael) Ballantyne
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
