bobby
noun
a policeman.
bobby
1 American
[bob-ee]
/ ˈbɒb i /
noun
British Informal.
-
bobbies
plural
Bobby
2
American
[bob-ee]
/ ˈbɒb i /
Or
Bobbie
noun
bobby
British
/ ˈbɒbɪ /
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of bobby
1835–45; special use of Bobby, for Sir Robert Peel, who set up the Metropolitan Police system of London in 1828
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:
“It’s a visual of innocence for this girl to wear these grown-up shoes with a heel, and then pair them with these youthful bobby socks,” he explained of Dorothy.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 24, 2025
“Tight as a drum”, was how the local beat bobby described the people on his patch.
From BBC ● Aug. 5, 2024
But Schwartz told me that he sees even this kind of damage most often when people use bobby pins or small spatulas to clean their ears.
From Slate ● Oct. 15, 2023
The bathroom is stocked with Listerine, Lubriderm lotion and bobby pins; the fridges teem with Red Bull, baby carrots and a wide selection of juices.
From New York Times ● Mar. 1, 2023
She pulled Eleanor into the bathroom and started pulling bobby pins out of her hair.
From "Eleanor & Park" by Rainbow Rowell
Yesterday, we shared Bobby Flay’s story of making deviled eggs with his mother, and we asked what the first thing you learned to cook was.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026
Several of the borrowers from Walter’s insurers are controlled by a Dodgers co-owner, Bobby Patton, corporate filings show.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 30, 2026
Bobby Thomas: A tough night for the Coventry centre-back, but he did react well to clear when Rushworth parried a shot in the second half.
From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026
In the early 1960s, brothers Cecil and Bobby Womack performed together in the Valentinos, whose biggest hit, “It’s All Over Now,” was covered by the Rolling Stones in 1964.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 17, 2026
This was all quite fascinating for the general spectator, but Bobby Fischer hadn’t come to look at chess sets.
From "Endgame" by Frank Brady
"Maybe it needs to go back to more bobbies on the beat, panda cars driving around and just keeping an eye on things - because this person, he's still around."
From BBC ● Dec. 26, 2023
More than 10,000 police officers will be on duty Monday, with London bobbies supplemented by reinforcements from all of Britain’s 43 police forces.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 18, 2022
They’re happier and sharper, and the rooftop concert crackles, down to McCartney ridiculing the bobbies who shut them down.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 27, 2021
Rather than stopping the prank, the bobbies simply insisted the Americans don life jackets and be accompanied by a police launch.
From Washington Post ● Jul. 3, 2016
I’d go an help myself, spite of all the bobbies that valks in blue.”
From My Doggie and I by R. M. (Robert Michael) Ballantyne
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.
