bobble
Americannoun
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a repeated, jerky movement; bob.
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a momentary fumbling or juggling of a batted or thrown baseball.
-
an error; mistake.
-
a small ball of fabric usually used decoratively, as in a fringe or other trimming.
a sweater with a line of bobbles up the sleeves.
verb (used with object)
noun
-
a short jerky motion, as of a cork floating on disturbed water; bobbing movement
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a tufted ball, usually for ornament, as on a knitted hat
-
any small dangling ball or bundle
verb
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(intr) sport (of a ball) to bounce with a rapid erratic motion due to an uneven playing surface
-
informal to handle (something) ineptly; muff; bungle
he bobbled the ball and lost the game
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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bobblesimple
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bobblessimple
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have bobbledperfect
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has bobbledperfect
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am bobblingprogressive
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are bobblingprogressive
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is bobblingprogressive
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have been bobblingperfect progressive
-
has been bobblingperfect progressive
Past
-
bobbledsimple
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had bobbledperfect
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was bobblingprogressive
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were bobblingprogressive
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had been bobblingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of bobble
1805–15; bob 1 + -le; bobble ( def. 4 ) perhaps new formation with bob 2
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:
In Wednesday’s slalom, Shiffrin laid down a vintage first run in 47.13 seconds that gave her a lead of 0.82 seconds, despite a bobble halfway down the course.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 18, 2026
At the full-time whistle, there were a smattering of boos from home supporters at Etihad Stadium and a despondent Haaland ripped off his hair bobble and shirt before heading straight down the tunnel.
From BBC ● Dec. 26, 2024
But after that first bobble in the finals, he kept trying the same trick.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 25, 2024
And I’m not going to make any excuses for college presidents who bobble this issue.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 17, 2023
The final night, even with my own bobble on beam and a not-quite-vertical handstand on bars, I came away with my fourth-straight National Championship win.
From "Courage to Soar" by Simone Biles
Fujii decorated these with a basic white sugar glaze and silver bobbles.
From Salon ● Dec. 24, 2023
Dr Ford urged cat owners to keep hair bobbles, hair ties and ribbons away from cats "as they are clearly very tempting to play with, chew and swallow".
From BBC ● Sep. 26, 2023
She came through an elite training camp a few weeks ago with top scores, and the bobbles she experienced Friday were born of rustiness, not of fear.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2023
“Maybe in the short term there were some bobbles, but you don’t really see a widespread issue there either,” she said.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 4, 2023
And he bobbles about on the waves, Brave boys!
From Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 102, April 9, 1892 by Various
Ward bobbled the ball as he picked it up for the relay home and a close play at the plate.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 3, 2026
We struggled so hard to handle Cuba, and bobbled it so often.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 26, 2026
There was still an opportunity for someone to keep it out, but the ball bobbled past a sea of black and white shirts and crept past Ramsdale, who was slow to react.
From BBC ● Dec. 2, 2025
The move didn’t pan out, with Volpe hitting a sharp grounder up the middle that the shortstop Tommy Edman bobbled from his knees, getting only one out at second as Chisholm scored the go-ahead run.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 26, 2024
His knees bobbled and bucked with the boat as it sped along, snaking its way in the writhing grooves of the stream.
From "Abel's Island" by William Steig
Goalkeeper Kim Seung-gyu made a mistake in the 50th minute, failing to stop what appeared to be a simple cross and bobbling the ball.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 19, 2026
After controlling a bobbling pass and setting himself up in one touch, the 21-year-old rifled a hip-height volley on the swivel past Spanish goalkeeper Unai Simon at full stretch.
From BBC ● Jun. 8, 2025
It's an unmistakable image of the Disney+ show: Mando in his silver armor and face-shielding helmet and Grogu bobbling along, behind or beside with his own gleaming protective hovercraft.
From Salon ● Mar. 8, 2023
He scored two plays after a wide-open Scotty Miller caught a 22-yard pass and went down while bobbling the ball at the 5.
From Washington Times ● Nov. 13, 2022
Because life wasn’t really an ocean, and she wasn’t really a little boat bobbling about on it.
From "Homecoming" by Cynthia Voigt
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.
