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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

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

Pilot Jakob Mandlbauer was stretchered off after the bob hurtled down the track for a good 30 seconds on its side.

From Barron's ● Feb. 21, 2026

The woman, whose ears also protruded, but were partially obscured by her hair cut in a bob, gave a gay shout of a laugh.

From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan

The drummer and sometimes singer from the Band, a group that backed Bob Dylan for a time and had its own star-studded farewell concert captured on film by Martin Scorsese, had declared bankruptcy.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 25, 2026

Bob Elliott sparks buzz highlighting the bargain level of TIPS.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026

Bob Lang, founder of the options-trading service Explosive Options, said an important nuance is that not every hyperscaler funds its capital expenditures with external financing.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 23, 2026

Keegan was the spearhead of Shankly's second great side, in total winning three league titles, the European Cup, FA Cup and the Uefa Cup twice under his Scottish mentor and then his successor Bob Paisley.

From BBC ● Jul. 20, 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

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

From BBC ● Jun. 3, 2026

On a recent morning, two surfers bobbed up and down on their boards directly in front of the new Club Med.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 31, 2026

Tesla stock has bobbed up and down for a while, with investors looking for concrete news about its AI applications.

From Barron's ● May 29, 2026

Still, the energy in the room remained high as the crowd sang, bobbed their heads and grooved to the music from the comfort of their plush seats.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 23, 2026

As we walked to the bus that would take us to the arena, we held hands like schoolgirls and bobbed our heads to the music coming through our headphones.

From "Courage to Soar" by Simone Biles

Erling Haaland's bobbing blonde hair is usually one of the easiest things to spot on a football pitch.

From BBC ● Jul. 6, 2026

Scott said, such as head bobbing, swaying and pacing.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 31, 2026

Wearing black Swig shirts, the crew swiftly mixed drinks with bobbing limes and swirling cream.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 5, 2026

The first rescue vessels arrived at around 3:30 am, Sajili said, although those bobbing in the water faced a longer wait.

From Barron's ● Jan. 26, 2026

Like a lone boat, bobbing on a wide, dark sea.

From "The Wrong Way Home" by Kate O’Shaughnessy