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• bob
  bob

  noun

  a short, jerky motion.
• Bob
  Bob

  noun

  a first name, form of Robert.

bob

¹ American  

[bob] / bɒb /

noun

1. a short, jerky motion.

   a bob of the head.

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verb (used with object)

bobbed, bobbing

1. to move quickly down and up.

   to bob the head.

2. to indicate with such a motion.

   to bob a greeting.

verb (used without object)

bobbed, bobbing

1. to make a jerky motion with the head or body.

2. to move about with jerky, usually rising and falling motions.

   The ball bobbed upon the waves.

verb phrase

1. bob up to emerge or appear, especially unexpectedly.

   A familiar face bobbed up in the crowd.

bob ² American  

[bob] / bɒb /

noun

1. a style of short haircut for women and children.

2. a docked horse's tail.

3. a dangling or terminal object, as the weight on a pendulum or a plumb line.

4. a short, simple line in a verse or song, especially a short refrain or coda.

5. Angling.

   1. a knot of worms, rags, etc., on a string.

   2. a float for a fishing line.

6. a bobsled or bob skate.

7. Scot. a bunch, cluster, or wad, especially a small bouquet of flowers.

8. Obsolete. walking beam.

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verb (used with object)

bobbed, bobbing

1. to cut short; dock.

   They bobbed their hair to be in style.

verb (used without object)

bobbed, bobbing

1. to try to snatch floating or dangling objects with the teeth.

   to bob for apples.

2. Angling. to fish with a bob.

bob ³ American  

[bob] / bɒb /

noun

1. a tap; light blow.

2. a polishing wheel of leather, felt, or the like.

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verb (used with object)

bobbed, bobbing

1. to tap; strike lightly.

bob ⁴ American  

[bob] / bɒb /

noun

British Informal.

• bob
  plural

1. a shilling.

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Bob ⁵ American  

[bob] / bɒb /

noun

1. a first name, form of Robert.

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bob ¹ British  

/ bɒb /

verb

1. to move or cause to move up and down repeatedly, as while floating in water

2. to move or cause to move with a short abrupt movement, as of the head

3. to make (a bow or curtsy)

   the little girl bobbed before the visitor

4. to appear or emerge suddenly

5. (intr; foll by under, below, etc) to disappear suddenly, as beneath a surface

6. to attempt to get hold (of a floating or hanging object, esp an apple) in the teeth as a game

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noun

1. a short abrupt movement, as of the head

2. a quick curtsy or bow

3. Leisure:Bell-ringing a particular set of changes

4. angling

   1. short for bobfloat

   2. the topmost fly on a cast of three, often fished bobbing at the surface

   3. this position on a wet-fly cast

bob ² British  

/ bɒb /

noun

1. a hairstyle for women and children in which the hair is cut short evenly all round the head

2. a dangling or hanging object, such as the weight on a pendulum or on a plumb line

3. a polishing disc on a rotating spindle. It is usually made of felt, leather, etc, impregnated with an abrasive material

4. short for bob skate bobsleigh

5. a runner or pair of runners on a bobsled

6. angling a small knot of worms, maggots, etc, used as bait

7. a very short line of verse at the end of a stanza or preceding a rhyming quatrain (the wheel) at the end of a stanza

8. a refrain or burden with such a short line or lines

9. a docked tail, esp of a horse

10. dialect a hanging cluster, as of flowers or ribbons

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verb

1. (tr) to cut (the hair) in a bob

2. (tr) to cut short (something, esp the tail of an animal); dock or crop

3. (intr) to ride on a bobsled

bob ³ British  

/ bɒb /

verb

1. to tap or cause to tap or knock lightly (against)

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noun

1. a light knock; tap

Bob ⁴ British  

/ bɒb /

noun

1. slang everything is or will turn out all right

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bob ⁵ British  

/ bɒb /

noun

1. (formerly) an informal word for a shilling

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• bob
  plural

Etymology

Origin of bob¹

First recorded in 1400–50, bob is from the late Middle English word bobben. See bob ²

Origin of bob²

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English bobbe (noun) “spray, cluster, bunch (of leaves, flowers, fruit, etc.)”; of uncertain origin

Origin of bob³

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English bobben “to strike, beat,” perhaps imitative; see bop ²

Origin of bob⁴

First recorded in 1780–90; origin unknown; perhaps from Bob

Explanation

To bob is to dip up and down, the way something does when it floats on the surface of water. A lobster buoy bobs in the ocean, marking the spot where a lobsterman's trap is set. Your friend stands out when her red hat bobs among a crowd of people, and so does a red boat as it bobs on a lake. You might bob your head to indicate agreement or get a short haircut that's also called a bob. The motion bob comes from the Old English bobben, "to strike," while the hair style stems from the earlier bobbe, or "cluster," and first referred a trimmed horse's tail.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

bob Bob bobbed bobbing

Smith, a 64-year-old who sported a blond bob, had been 16 when she got married in the 1970s.

From Slate ● May 4, 2026

“I’m not going to bob and weave about context, the joke was dumb, the fandom is not. I owe them an explanation and a genuine reflection of my actual feelings.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 17, 2026

“That’s the reason why we’ve seen prices basically bob up and down.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 27, 2026

Team GB capped off a disappointing bobsleigh campaign at the Winter Olympics with a "devastating" seventh-place finish in the four-man bob event.

From BBC ● Feb. 22, 2026

She came down the stairs like it was a catwalk, her shiny aquamarine bob swinging as her gold-trimmed heels click-clacked toward them.

From "Witchlings" by Claribel A. Ortega

Trucking companies can’t fully absorb it all either, according to Bob Costello, chief economist of the American Trucking Associations.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 23, 2026

“No one is spared here,” said Bob Hart, chief executive of TruAmerica Multifamily Investments, who is working through his own pile of short-term apartment debt.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 21, 2026

A group led by Bob Iger and Joshua Kushner estimate team revenue will more than double to at least $1.6 billion in a decade.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 21, 2026

From 2020 to 2025, I again got a chance to work with Bob on a new series of Barbie dolls.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2026

Not at Nicole’s nervousness but at something his father had said to his uncle Bob when Uncle Bob accused him of being paranoid.

From "Storm Runners" by Roland Smith

In it, a woman inside of a hoarder’s garage bobbed a feather toy in front of Likho, who jumped up to catch it.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 2026

And by the 1920s, women with bobbed hair came to represent female independence and rebellion.

From BBC ● Jun. 3, 2026

Pink poodles with long black eyelashes danced in a can-can line, a quartet of googly-eyed cacti bobbed along to the music and a trio of small white dogs galloped on the stage.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 16, 2026

He slipped out of a Zodiac boat and shot a few photos as he bobbed in the chilly sea.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 23, 2026

One of them hopped clumsily to the end of a branch, which squeaked and bobbed under its weight and sent it squawking into the air.

From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt

The TV cameras didn’t help matters, at one point finding a lone Chargers fan amid an ocean of Raiders fans, a blue dot bobbing in a silver-and-black sea.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 20, 2026

Debris remains scattered across the water, including a black wheelie suitcase bobbing on the surface and a sheet of steel that appeared to have broken away from the ferry.

From BBC ● Aug. 31, 2026

Seen with the naked eye from the stern of our 40-foot tour boat, the dark blobs bobbing in the restless sea didn’t look like much.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 26, 2026

In September 2023, she held a news conference dressed as Monroe — bright red lipstick, bobbing blond hair — urging the City Council to declare it a landmark.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 3, 2026

I was handing him the half-sovereign, when something came bobbing up against the window, and Mr. Bilder’s face doubled its natural length with surprise.

From "Dracula" by Bram Stoker