cob
1 Americannoun
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a corncob.
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a male swan.
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a short-legged, thick-set horse, often having a high gait and frequently used for driving.
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British. a mixture of clay and straw, used as a building material.
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British Dialect. a rounded mass or lump.
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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.
abbreviation
noun
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a male swan
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a thickset short-legged type of riding and draught horse
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short for corncob corncob pipe cobnut
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another name for hazel
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a small rounded lump or heap of coal, ore, etc
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a building material consisting of a mixture of clay and chopped straw
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Also called: cob loaf. a round loaf of bread
verb
noun
Etymology
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
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.
Ribs, hot dogs, fried chicken, corn on the cob, watermelon slices.
From Salon • Jul. 3, 2025
That includes adobe and cob, a material made from clay, sand and straw.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 28, 2025
His Nando's order - plain chicken burger, straight chips, corn cob - comes bland and beige.
From BBC • Jul. 15, 2024
The researchers did find genes related to cob size -- perhaps representing an increased yield potential -- and flowering time, which likely helped maize, a tropical crop, to grow at higher latitudes with longer days.
From Science Daily • Nov. 30, 2023
They roasted the sweetcom in the husk that night, turning the ears with long forked sticks, and ate it hot right off the cob.
From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin
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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.