wobble
Americanverb (used without object)
-
wobbles,
present (3rd person singular)
-
wobbled,
past participle, past
-
wobbling
present participle
-
to incline to one side and to the other alternately, as a wheel, top, or other rotating body when not properly balanced.
-
to move unsteadily from side to side.
The table wobbled on its uneven legs.
-
to show unsteadiness; tremble; quaver.
His voice wobbled.
-
to vacillate; waver.
verb (used with object)
-
wobbles,
present (3rd person singular)
-
wobbled,
past participle, past
-
wobbling
present participle
noun
-
wobbles
plural
verb
-
(intr) to move, rock, or sway unsteadily
-
(intr) to tremble or shake
her voice wobbled with emotion
-
(intr) to vacillate with indecision
-
(tr) to cause to wobble
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
wobblesimple
-
wobblessimple
-
have wobbledperfect
-
has wobbledperfect
-
am wobblingprogressive
-
are wobblingprogressive
-
is wobblingprogressive
-
have been wobblingperfect progressive
-
has been wobblingperfect progressive
Past
-
wobbledsimple
-
had wobbledperfect
-
was wobblingprogressive
-
were wobblingprogressive
-
had been wobblingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of wobble
1650–60; < Low German wabbeln; akin to Old Norse vafla to toddle, Middle High German wabelen to waver, Old English wæflian to speak incoherently
Explanation
When things wobble, they teeter or rock unsteadily back and forth. A brand new bike rider is bound to wobble a little bit when she's pedaling down the street. A cafe table might wobble annoyingly until you prop up one leg with folded paper. And, when you first step off an amusement park ride, your legs might wobble for a while. Your voice can wobble too, or tremble, especially when you're upset or nervous. People wobble figuratively too: "When politicians wobble on important issues, it's hard to trust them."
Vocabulary lists containing wobble
Lesson 1
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"Modern Automotive Technology," Vocabulary from Section 9
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Night Owls
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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.
See Examples For:
Is this growing pains or the wobble before the fall?
From Slate ● Aug. 7, 2026
One cabinet minister worries he might wobble when things get tough.
From BBC ● Jul. 18, 2026
This effect causes the tilted disk to wobble.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 6, 2026
Remember when we all believed that the market would be in dire straits if the megacap tech stocks had a wobble?
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 26, 2026
A lorry went past, making our car wobble and, for a few seconds, obscuring our view of the hoarding.
From "Never Let Me Go" by Kazuo Ishiguro
That latter point may even be true, but officials have traded one panic for another by setting in motion exchange-market wobbles.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026
This describes a phenomenon where a star wobbles back and forth, indicating a massive companion object is orbiting.
From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2026
When the national mood wobbles, we turn to the arts, which have the power to free buried desires, soothe souls and cross divides.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 29, 2026
The upcoming SpaceX IPO is currently creating wobbles for other equities, Thomas Lee, managing partner and head of research at the New York-based boutique firm, wrote in a note on Tuesday.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 10, 2026
The laptop wobbles in my hands, and my brain spins.
From "Keeping Pace" by Laurie Morrison
The trade wobbled briefly this March following the onset of hostilities in the Middle East and went back into overdrive the past several weeks.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 3, 2026
After rising 160% in 2026, with most of those gains happening over the past month or so, the stock has wobbled a bit in recent days.
From Barron's ● May 4, 2026
Webster-Longin also wobbled on her dismount and her 9.5875 had to count.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 16, 2026
Oil prices wobbled on Friday ahead of talks between the U.S. and Iran due to take place over the weekend loom.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 10, 2026
They wobbled as they had that day on the train, during the fat man’s tirade.
From "Hattie Big Sky" by Kirby Larson
Now, deep into adulthood, both characters are wobbling.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
If a wobbling stock market were to threaten companies like OpenAI, Wallerstein said he believes the federal government could ride to the rescue.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 11, 2026
There were these moments when he was really wobbling.
From Salon ● Jul. 5, 2026
NASA's Lucy spacecraft recently revealed that asteroid Donaldjohanson is a wobbling, peanut-shaped object that has been shaped by collisions, sunlight, and even a brief encounter with liquid water long ago.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 25, 2026
Sasha was now about a year old, wobbling on two feet and beginning to say words and crack us up with her megawatt smiles.
From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama
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.
