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:
He met his wife, Mary Lou, in 1956, brunette and pretty, wearing bobby socks at a fraternity mixer at Michigan State.
From Salon ● Nov. 14, 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
“It’s hard to believe there’s bobby pins, a cap and a full head of her own hair under the wig,” McDonald said as he pointed to a photograph of LuPone wearing it.
From New York Times ● Nov. 29, 2022
I think there’s tape, safety pins and bobby pins all behind that brooch holding it together.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 4, 2022
She also recommended a haircut, but I would only go so far as a French roll, engineered with the help of some big rollers and hair-setting gel and a lot of bobby pins.
From "Cat's Eye" by Margaret Atwood
“I want you all to know that Bobby Kennedy…personally ran over the cow in his car.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 25, 2026
Bobby Brown shared her sadness, alongside a black and white image of Hottle, to her Instagram story.
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
Those five acquisitions combined have provided the Mets fewer wins above replacement than Bobby Bonilla this season.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026
His grandfather Bobby Bonds hit 332 homers during a 14-year career that ended in 1981.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 13, 2026
Escorted by security guards down a long, dark, and narrow hallway, Bobby demanded to know what was going on.
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 sleep where I like, if the bobbies don’t get their eyes on me w’en I’m agoin’ to bed, an’ I heat wotever comes in my way if it ain’t too tough.
From My Doggie and I by Ballantyne, R. M. (Robert Michael)
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.
