gubbins
Britishnoun
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(functioning as singular) an object of little or no value
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(functioning as singular) a small device or gadget
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(functioning as plural) odds and ends; litter or rubbish
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(functioning as singular) a silly person
Etymology
Origin of gubbins
C16 (meaning: fragments): from obsolete gobbon, probably related to gobbet
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.
No longer can it be merely enjoyed for what it is – a couple of hours of well-meaning, gently funny sentimental gubbins with an all-star cast.
From The Guardian • Dec. 8, 2019
We had already made a terrible mess of it, with three cameras and all the wiry gubbins that goes with them.
From BBC • May 21, 2011
All the lighting, heating and plumbing gubbins have been carefully concealed, but some doors do lack handles; this is simply because, after so many years, Jackson has still to find the right ones.
From The Guardian • Dec. 20, 2010
There's a clever electronic gubbins hidden away somewhere that determines the sounds we hear.
From The Guardian • Jun. 6, 2010
Craig Kelly's laconic Lancastrian commentary was the only tolerable thing about gap year gubbins Shipwrecked.
From The Guardian • Mar. 25, 2010
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.
