fob off
Britishverb
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to appease or trick (a person) with lies or excuses
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to dispose of (goods) by trickery
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Sell or dispose of goods by fraud or deception, as in They tried to fob off the zircon as a diamond . [c. 1600]
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Put off or appease by deceitful means, as in We needed her help but were fobbed off by promises . [c. 1600]
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.
Ms Mannings reflected on how people often ask "are you OK?" - but it's a vague question, easy to "fob off".
From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2025
I have never read any major news story so inappropriately world-weary — and so willing to fob off the press’ failures on the public.
From Salon ● Dec. 17, 2019
They put off replacement, defer maintenance and fob off concerns all in the name of “saving money” until something does happen.
From New York Times ● Nov. 28, 2018
I wouldn’t put it past Roger to play on Pete’s ambition and sense of self-importance and fob off on him some of the non-recreational aspects of the job.
From Slate ● May 8, 2012
Vain, too, was his attempt to fob off his rebellious subordinate with the reluctance of the King.
From Lord Chatham His Early Life and Connections by Rosebery, Archibald Phillip Primrose
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.
