bob

[ bob ]

/ bɒb /

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noun

a short, jerky motion: a bob of the head.

verb (used with object), bobbed, bob·bing.

to move quickly down and up: to bob the head.

to indicate with such a motion: to bob a greeting.

verb (used without object), bobbed, bob·bing.

to make a jerky motion with the head or body.

to move about with jerky, usually rising and falling motions: The ball bobbed upon the waves.

Verb Phrases

bob up, to emerge or appear, especially unexpectedly: A familiar face bobbed up in the crowd.

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Origin of bob

First recorded in 1400–50, bob is from the late Middle English word bobben.See bob²

Other definitions for bob (2 of 5)

bob²

[ bob ]

/ bɒb /

noun

a style of short haircut for women and children.

a docked horse's tail.

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

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

Angling.

a knot of worms, rags, etc., on a string.
a float for a fishing line.

a bobsled or bob skate.

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

Obsolete. walking beam.

verb (used with object), bobbed, bob·bing.

to cut short; dock: They bobbed their hair to be in style.

verb (used without object), bobbed, bob·bing.

to try to snatch floating or dangling objects with the teeth: to bob for apples.

Angling. to fish with a bob.

Origin of bob

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

Other definitions for bob (3 of 5)

bob³

[ bob ]

/ bɒb /

noun

a tap; light blow.

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

verb (used with object), bobbed, bob·bing.

to tap; strike lightly.

Origin of bob

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English bobben “to strike, beat,” perhaps imitative; see bop²

Other definitions for bob (4 of 5)

bob⁴

[ bob ]

/ bɒb /

noun, plural bob.British Informal.

a shilling.

Origin of bob

⁴

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

Other definitions for bob (5 of 5)

Bob

[ bob ]

/ bɒb /

noun

a male given name, form of Robert.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use bob in a sentence

By arranging objects in specific ways, Alice tries to set puzzles that are hard for Bob to solve.
These virtual robot arms get smarter by training each other|Will Heaven|January 22, 2021|MIT Technology Review
As they learn, Alice sets more complex puzzles and Bob gets better at solving them.
These virtual robot arms get smarter by training each other|Will Heaven|January 22, 2021|MIT Technology Review
At the end, Bob calculated how fast and how accurate participants were when responding to the words and non-words.
Dreaming Is Like Taking LSD - Issue 95: Escape|Antonio Zadra & Robert Stickgold|January 14, 2021|Nautilus
When Bob tested participants during the day, he got exactly the results he expected—strong primes like right produced three times as much priming as weak primes like thief.
Dreaming Is Like Taking LSD - Issue 95: Escape|Antonio Zadra & Robert Stickgold|January 14, 2021|Nautilus

Bob’s results suggested his participants’ brains were activating strongly related words three times more effectively than they were weakly related words.
Dreaming Is Like Taking LSD - Issue 95: Escape|Antonio Zadra & Robert Stickgold|January 14, 2021|Nautilus
Goodell otherwise bobbed and weaved his way through half an hour of grilling by skeptical reporters.
Roger Goodell’s TV Disaster Shows What’s Wrong With The NFL|Lloyd Grove|September 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
And I had the blonde, bobbed hair with like really high bangs that went super high.
‘Surviving Jack’ Star Rachael Harris Is No Longer ‘The Bitch'|Kevin Fallon|March 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Behind them bobbed the smaller ships; in the third line were merchant boats and the royal galleys.
The Day the Sea Ran Red: The Battle of Sluys|Dan Jones|May 6, 2013|DAILY BEAST
At the defense table, Jerry Sandusky smiled broadly and bobbed his head up and down at the memory.
Jerry Sandusky Trial, Day Three: The Defense Gets Steamrolled|Diane Dimond|June 14, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Pretty much all the research I did for playing an Anna Wintour type was, I went shopping for a bobbed wig.
Miss Piggy Dishes on Muppets Movie, Kermit, Ernie and Bert Rumors|Ramin Setoodeh|November 22, 2011|DAILY BEAST
“I am sure they are going to use my idea,” Belle Ringold said, with a toss of her bobbed curls.
The Campfire Girls of Roselawn|Margaret Penrose
She smiled and shook her bobbed curls and altogether acted in a rather ridiculous way.
The Campfire Girls of Roselawn|Margaret Penrose
At every step she took, her golden curls bobbed against her cheek, and so limping she sat down on a bank by the roadside.
Honey-Bee|Anatole France
Talpers bobbed his head, but not enough to break the stare he had bent upon the girl, who flushed under his scrutiny.
Mystery Ranch|Arthur Chapman
This time there was a faint scream in answer and a mauve-and-white bonnet bobbed agitatedly up the road.
Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 147, November 4, 1914|Various

British Dictionary definitions for bob (1 of 5)

bob¹

/ (bɒb) /

verb bobs, bobbing or bobbed

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

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

to make (a bow or curtsy)the little girl bobbed before the visitor

(intr usually foll by up) to appear or emerge suddenly

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

(intr usually foll by for) to attempt to get hold (of a floating or hanging object, esp an apple) in the teeth as a game

noun

a short abrupt movement, as of the head

a quick curtsy or bow

bell-ringing a particular set of changes

angling

short for bobfloat
the topmost fly on a cast of three, often fished bobbing at the surface
this position on a wet-fly cast

Word Origin for bob

C14: of uncertain origin

British Dictionary definitions for bob (2 of 5)

bob²

/ (bɒb) /

noun

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

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

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

short for bob skate, bobsleigh

a runner or pair of runners on a bobsled

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

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

a refrain or burden with such a short line or lines

a docked tail, esp of a horse

British dialect a hanging cluster, as of flowers or ribbons

verb bobs, bobbing or bobbed

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

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

(intr) to ride on a bobsled

Word Origin for bob

C14 bobbe bunch of flowers, perhaps of Celtic origin

British Dictionary definitions for bob (3 of 5)

bob³

/ (bɒb) /

verb bobs, bobbing or bobbed

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

noun

a light knock; tap

Word Origin for bob

C13 bobben to rap, beat; see bop ²

British Dictionary definitions for bob (4 of 5)

bob⁴

/ (bɒb) /

noun plural bob

British (formerly) an informal word for a shilling (def. 1)

Word Origin for bob

C19: of unknown origin

British Dictionary definitions for bob (5 of 5)

Bob

/ (bɒb) /

noun

Bob's your uncle slang everything is or will turn out all right

Word Origin for Bob

C19: perhaps from pet form of Robert

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

bob

Origin of bob

Other definitions for bob (2 of 5)

Origin of bob

Other definitions for bob (3 of 5)

Origin of bob

Other definitions for bob (4 of 5)

Origin of bob

Other definitions for bob (5 of 5)

Words related to bob

How to use bob in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for bob (1 of 5)

Word Origin for bob

British Dictionary definitions for bob (2 of 5)

Word Origin for bob

British Dictionary definitions for bob (3 of 5)

Word Origin for bob

British Dictionary definitions for bob (4 of 5)

Word Origin for bob

British Dictionary definitions for bob (5 of 5)

Word Origin for Bob