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Synonyms

cob

1 American  
[kob] / kɒb /

noun

  1. a corncob.

  2. a male swan.

  3. a short-legged, thick-set horse, often having a high gait and frequently used for driving.

  4. British. a mixture of clay and straw, used as a building material.

  5. British Dialect. a rounded mass or lump.

  6. 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.

COB 2 American  

abbreviation

Business.

  1. close of business.

    The data analysis will be on your desk by COB Wednesday.
cob 1 British  
/ kɒb /

noun

  1. a male swan

  2. a thickset short-legged type of riding and draught horse

  3. short for corncob corncob pipe cobnut

  4. another name for hazel

  5. a small rounded lump or heap of coal, ore, etc

  6. a building material consisting of a mixture of clay and chopped straw

  7. Also called: cob loaf.  a round loaf of bread

"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

verb

  1. informal (tr) to beat, esp on the buttocks

"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
cob 2 British  
/ kɒb /

noun

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

"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

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.

California earlier this year rejected citizen-led proposals to adopt cob, hemp-lime and light straw clay in its code, and recently rejected a petition to reconsider.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 28, 2025

Will it be from eating corn on the cob?

From Salon • Dec. 15, 2024

The town this week unveiled several artistic works, including three statues of athletes and other monuments such as a maize cob and a milk fountain.

From BBC • Aug. 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

Just put those ears in hot water and scrape the kernels right off the cob.

From "Life Is So Good" by George Dawson

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.