cob

[ kob ]

noun

a corncob.
a male swan.

a short-legged, thick-set horse, often having a high gait and frequently used for driving.
British. a mixture of clay and straw, used as a building material.
British Dialect. a rounded mass or lump.
a crude silver or gold Spanish-American coin of the 16th to 18th centuries, characteristically irregular in shape and bearing only a partial impression of the dies from which it was struck.

Origin of cob

First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English cobbe “male swan, leader of a gang”; these and various subsequent senses are obscurely related and probably in part of distinct origin

Words Nearby cob

Other definitions for COB (2 of 2)

COB

abbreviationBusiness.

close of business: The data analysis will be on your desk by COB Wednesday.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use cob in a sentence

In 2011, during the final days of our last Iraq war I spent time there, on the former U.S. base called cob Speicher.
The View of Iraq From Troops in Afghanistan | Nick Willard | June 25, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
People scurry past me while eating freshly roasted corn on the cob.
Look Out! There’s a Craft-Beer Revolution Taking Over France | Jeff Campagna | December 2, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST
Joseph tilted his chair back against the steel fence and kindled his cob pipe.
Hooded Detective, Volume III No. 2, January, 1942 | Various
We had no molds, but Annie said the latest style in Natchez was to make a waxen rope by dipping, then wrap it round a corn-cob.
Famous Adventures And Prison Escapes of the Civil War | Various
He watched the shepherd's face curiously from under his heavy brows, as he pulled at his cob pipe.
The Shepherd of the Hills | Harold Bell Wright

The seeds included vegetables, flowers, and Indian corn, the last named being in the cob.
The Adventures of Louis de Rougemont | Louis de Rougemont
My stern companion jogged along On a brown old cob both broad and strong.
The Book of Humorous Verse | Various

British Dictionary definitions for cob (1 of 2)

cob¹

/ (kɒb) /

noun

a male swan
a thickset short-legged type of riding and draught horse

short for corncob, corncob pipe, cobnut
British another name for hazel (def. 1)
a small rounded lump or heap of coal, ore, etc
British and NZ a building material consisting of a mixture of clay and chopped straw
Also called: cob loaf British a round loaf of bread

verbcobs, cobbing or cobbed

(tr) British informal to beat, esp on the buttocks

Origin of cob

C15: of uncertain origin; probably related to Icelandic kobbi seal; see cub

British Dictionary definitions for cob (2 of 2)

cob²

cobb

/ (kɒb) /

noun

an archaic or dialect name for the greater black-backed gull (Larus marinus): See also gull 1

Origin of cob

C16: of Germanic origin; related to Dutch kob, kobbe

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

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