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definitions

gob

1
[gob]
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noun

a mass or lump.
gobs, Informal. a large quantity: gobs of money.
Also called goaf. Mining. waste or barren material.

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RELATED WORDS

aggregation, hunk, morsel, gathering, cluster, fullness, concentration, bunch, cargo, congeries, hill, hoard, agglomeration, collection, bulk, haul, bundle, harvest, bank, abundance

Nearby words

  1. goatsbeard,
  2. goatskin,
  3. goatsucker,
  4. goaty,
  5. goaves,
  6. gob-stopper,
  7. goban,
  8. gobang,
  9. gobat,
  10. gobbet

Origin of gob

1
1350–1400; Middle English gobbe, variant of gobet gobbet

gob

2
[gob]

noun Slang.

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

Origin of gob

2
An Americanism dating back to 1910–15; origin uncertain

gob

3
[gob]

noun Slang.

the mouth.

Origin of gob

3
1540–50; perhaps < Scots Gaelic gob mouth, beak

gob

4
[gob]British Dialect

verb (used without object), gobbed, gob·bing, noun

gab1.

Origin of gob

4
First recorded in 1685–95
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for gobs

British Dictionary definitions for gobs

gob

1

noun

a lump or chunk, esp of a soft substance
(often plural) informal a great quantity or amount
mining
  1. waste material such as clay, shale, etc
  2. 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 gobs, gobbing or gobbed

(intr) British informal to spit

Word Origin for gob

C14: from Old French gobe lump, from gober to gulp down; see gobbet

gob

2

noun

US slang an enlisted ordinary seaman in the US Navy

Word Origin for gob

C20: of unknown origin

gob

3

noun

a slang word (esp Brit) for the mouth

Word Origin for gob

C16: perhaps from Gaelic gob
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
Word Origin and History for gobs

gob

n.

"a mouthful, lump," late 14c., probably from Old French gobe "mouthful, lump," related to gober "gulp, swallow down," probably from Gaulish *gobbo- (cf. Irish gob "mouth," Gaelic gob "beak"). This Celtic source also seems to be root of gob "mouth" (mid-16c.), which is the first element in gob-stopper "a kind of large hard candy" (1928).

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper