gob
1 Americannoun
-
a mass or lump.
-
Informal. gobs, a large quantity.
gobs of money.
-
Also called goaf. Mining. waste or barren material.
noun
noun
verb (used without object)
noun
-
a lump or chunk, esp of a soft substance
-
informal (often plural) a great quantity or amount
-
mining
-
waste material such as clay, shale, etc
-
a worked-out area in a mine often packed with this
-
-
a lump of molten glass used to make a piece of glassware
-
informal a globule of spittle or saliva
verb
noun
noun
Etymology
Origin of gob1
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English gobbe, variant of gobet “a mouthful, lump”; gobbet
Origin of gob2
An Americanism dating back to 1910–15; origin uncertain
Origin of gob3
First recorded in 1540–50; perhaps from Gaelic gob “mouth, beak”
Origin of gob4
First recorded in 1680–85; gabble ( def. )
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.
You could always tell when someone in the neighborhood was having a sleepover, because then the kids who weren’t invited suddenly had gobs of toilet paper in all the trees in their yards.
From Literature
![]()
As a result, more companies are changing their business models, raising gobs of cash and tethering their fortunes to the fate of AI behemoths.
That has led a widening array of companies to change business models, raise gobs of cash and tether their fortunes to the fate of AI behemoths.
It doesn’t always require spending gobs more money.
From Los Angeles Times
When he dismisses a contagion that killed millions as a “global gob of spit,” Mr. Tesson seems unfeeling and out of touch.
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.