gob

¹ American  

[gob] / gɒb /

noun

1. a mass or lump.

2. Informal. gobs, a large quantity.

   gobs of money.

3. Also called goaf.  Mining. waste or barren material.

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gob ² American  

[gob] / gɒb /

noun

Slang.

1. a sailor, especially a seaman in the U.S. Navy.

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gob ³ American  

[gob] / gɒb /

noun

Chiefly British Slang.

1. the mouth.

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gob ⁴ American  

[gob] / gɒb /

verb (used without object)

gobbed, gobbing

1. gab.

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gob ¹ British  

/ ɡɒb /

noun

1. a lump or chunk, esp of a soft substance

2. informal (often plural) a great quantity or amount

3. mining

   1. waste material such as clay, shale, etc

   2. a worked-out area in a mine often packed with this

4. a lump of molten glass used to make a piece of glassware

5. informal a globule of spittle or saliva

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verb

1. informal (intr) to spit

gob ² British  

/ ɡɒb /

noun

1. slang an enlisted ordinary seaman in the US Navy

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gob ³ British  

/ ɡɒb /

noun

1. a slang word (esp Brit) for the mouth

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Etymology

Origin of gob¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English gobbe, variant of gobet “a mouthful, lump”; see 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; cf. gabble ( def. )

Explanation

A gob is a lump, blob, or chunk of something. A gob of pizza dough has to be flattened into a large circle before you can top it with sauce and cheese and bake it in the oven. A gob can be a hunk of something slimy or yucky — you might avoid stepping on an unidentified gob on the sidewalk. You can also eat a gob of cookie dough or mold a gob of clay. Roald Dahl introduced the Everlasting Gobstopper in his novel "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" as a form of candy that would last forever. A more old fashioned meaning of the word gob is "a sailor." While the origin of this kind of gob is a mystery, the "lump" meaning comes from gobbet, "fragment," rooted in the Old French gobet, "piece or mouthful."

Example Sentences

When he dismisses a contagion that killed millions as a “global gob of spit,” Mr. Tesson seems unfeeling and out of touch.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 11, 2025

The seagull with the bread in his gob was the best of it.

From BBC • Aug. 31, 2025

But when such a person appears in a context where I'd least expect them – where, by all rights, they don't need to be – that is a real smack to the old gob.

From Salon • Jun. 8, 2023

The most gob smacking is when the hunky dancer Campbell Caspary walks down a flight of stairs on his hands.

From New York Times • Jan. 20, 2023

Wished I'd never opened my stupid gob about the cotton now.

From "Black Swan Green" by David Mitchell

Related Words

• aggregation
• great deal