gobble
1 Americanverb (used without object)
noun
noun
interjection
verb
verb
-
to eat or swallow (food) hastily and in large mouthfuls
-
informal to snatch
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of gobble1
1595–1605; probably imitative; see gob 1, -le
Origin of gobble2
First recorded in 1670–80; variant of gabble
Explanation
To gobble is to eat quickly — really quickly. When you gobble your dinner, you hardly even chew your food. You’ve probably been told that gobbling your food is impolite. However, maybe you can get away with it if you impress your dining companions with some interesting facts about this word’s history. Gobble comes from an Old French word meaning “a mouthful” or “a lump.” It’s related to gob, a slang term for “mouth” in the UK.
Vocabulary lists containing gobble
"When Cultures Meet"
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Crenshaw
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The Circuit
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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.
Gobble up two beef taquitos bathed in avocado salsa at Cielito Lindo.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 13, 2021
“He didn’t have to die like that. He didn’t have to die alone. He didn’t have to die in prison,” said Julie Gobble, Williams’ daughter, who lives in Kansas.
From Seattle Times • Feb. 24, 2020
The room was dark when the teacher entered, but after about 10 minutes she noticed Gobble and the boy hiding behind several stacked boxes.
From Washington Post • Jan. 16, 2017
This year, his brother Jim, the 49ers' coach, went on a linguistic romp by answering a question with "Gobble, gobble, turkey."
From New York Times • Feb. 3, 2013
Her sisters at home felt anxious and low When poor Gobble did not appear, And Goosey, determined her fate to know, Went and sought all the field far and near.
From The Fox and the Geese; and The Wonderful History of Henny-Penny by Anonymous
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.
