bob up

1. Appear suddenly or unexpectedly. For example, I didn't know anyone in the group until Harry bobbed up. This term uses the verb bob in the sense of “to bounce,” a usage dating from Chaucer's day. [Late 1800s]

Example Sentences

In the 30 years before the mid 1990s, net migration, the number arriving minus the number leaving, bobbed up and down but was broadly balanced.

From BBC

He beamed as his head bobbed up and down.

From Los Angeles Times

I reassured her this was not the case and rapidly tried to build a bond as we bobbed up and down a few metres apart.

From BBC

A standout moment on Tamara's nine-week expedition in Antarctica's Weddell Sea was when two seals bobbed up to the surface to take a deeper breath after falling asleep alongside the ship.

From BBC

He disappeared under the water and in a while his head bobbed up, far out and downstream.

From Literature

Related Words

• arrive 
• come 
• come out 
• crop up 
• develop 
• emerge 
• materialize 
• occur 
• pop up 
• present 
• show 
• show up 
• surface 
• turn out 
• turn up