mobile

¹

[moh-buhl, -beel, -bahyl]

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.

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

[moh-beel, moh-beel]

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.

-mobile

³

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.

mobile

¹

/ 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?

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

²

/ 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)

-mobile

³

/ məʊˌbiːl /

suffix

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

   Popemobile

mobile

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

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

Other Word Forms

• nonmobile adjective
• semimobile adjective
• unmobile adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of mobile¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of mobile¹

C15: via Old French from Latin mōbilis, from movēre to move

Example Sentences

Investigators later tracked pings from mobile phones connecting to towers along the route taken by the Brink’s 18-wheeler as it traveled from the Bay Area to Lebec.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Mobile networks profit was strong, even with a more challenging regional mix, and management said margins are at a new long-term level, suggesting that the bearish thesis of declining networks margins is unlikely to appear soon.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The current owners have outfitted it with smart home technology, with lighting, HVAC, appliances, and electronic devices controlled remotely by phone, computer, or mobile devices.

Read more on MarketWatch

About 80,000 mobile phones were stolen in London last year, according to the Metropolitan Police, and there have been some high-profile instances of theft in the capital in the past 12 months.

Read more on BBC

He quickly became lost and when he set up his tent on the third night he found that it was soaked through - as was his sleeping bag and mobile phone, meaning he could not call for help.

Read more on BBC