fob

¹ American  

[fob] / fɒb /

noun

1. a small pocket just below the waistline in pants, designed for a watch, keys, change, etc.

2. especially formerly,

   1. a short chain or ribbon, usually with a medallion or similar ornament, attached to a watch and worn hanging from a pocket.

   2. the medallion or ornament itself.

3. key fob.

   The fob allows students 24/7 access into the residence building and their rooms.

   I could never find my nail clipper in my purse, so now I’m using it as a fob on my keychain.

---

fob ² American  

[fob] / fɒb /

verb (used with object)

fobbed, fobbing

1. Archaic. to cheat; deceive.

---

verb phrase

1. fob off

   1. to cheat someone by substituting something spurious or inferior; palm off (often followed byon ).

      He tried to fob off an inferior brand on us.

   2. to put (someone) off by deception or trickery.

      She fobbed us off with false promises.

f.o.b. ³ American  

Or F.O.B.

abbreviation

Commerce.

1. free on board: without charge to the buyer for goods placed on board a carrier at the point of shipment.

   automobiles shipped f.o.b. Detroit.

---

fob ¹ British  

/ fɒb /

noun

1. a chain or ribbon by which a pocket watch is attached to a waistcoat

2. any ornament hung on such a chain

3. a small pocket in a man's waistcoat, for holding a watch

4. a metal or plastic tab on a key ring

---

fob ² British  

/ fɒb /

verb

1. an archaic word for cheat

---

fob ³ British  

/ fɒb /

noun

1. slang a Pacific Islander who has newly arrived in New Zealand

---

f.o.b. ⁴ British  

abbreviation

1. free on board

---

Etymology

Origin of fob¹

First recorded in 1645–55; origin uncertain; compare dialectal German Fuppe, Low German Fobke “pocket”

Origin of fob²

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English fobben; perhaps cognate with German foppen “to delude, kid, tease” ( fop ) or, alternatively, akin to French fourbe “cheat, swindler” (from Old French forbir “to clean”; furbish ( def. ) )

Origin of f.o.b.³

First recorded in 1870–75

Example Sentences

Some smart fobs now let you disable the signal at night.

From BBC

It pops out when it needs to be used, either automatically through the user’s key fob or phone, or manually by pressing the handle.

From The Wall Street Journal

“Yes, definitely. I talked to him about it. But you need to talk to him too,” Ray says, pushing the button on his key fob that makes the truck lock chirp.

From Literature

"They're in all modern cell phones, key fobs, garage door openers, most GPS receivers, many radar systems and more."

From Science Daily

When the nurses raised their concerns, they "genuinely felt they were not being taken seriously" and were "being in essence fobbed off by senior management and seen as trouble-makers", the panel said.

From BBC