lob

¹

[lob]

verb (used with object)

lobbed, lobbing 

1. Tennis.,  to hit (a ball) in a high arc to the back of the opponent's court.

2. to fire (a missile, as a shell) in a high trajectory so that it drops onto a target.

3. Cricket.,  to bowl (the ball) with a slow underhand motion.

4. to throw (something) slowly in an arc.

verb (used without object)

lobbed, lobbing 

1. Tennis.,  to lob a ball.

noun

1. Tennis.,  a ball hit in a high arc to the back of the opponent's court.

2. Cricket.,  a ball bowled with a slow underhand motion.

3. British Dialect.,  a slow, heavy, dull-witted person.

lob

²

[lob]

noun

1. lobworm.

lob

¹

/ lɒb /

noun

1. a ball struck in a high arc

2. cricket a ball bowled in a slow high arc

verb

1. to hit or kick (a ball) in a high arc

2. informal,  to throw, esp in a high arc

lob

²

/ lɒb /

noun

1. short for lobworm

Other Word Forms

• lobber noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of lob¹

1325–75; in earlier sense, to behave like a lob ( Middle English lobbe, lob bumpkin, clumsy person, originally pollack; Old English: spider; basic sense, something pendulous); cognate with Middle Low German, Middle Dutch lobbe dangling part, stockfish, etc.

Word History and Origins

Origin of lob¹

C14: probably of Low German origin, originally in the sense: something dangling; compare Middle Low German lobbe hanging lower lip, Old English loppe spider

Origin of lob²

C17 (in the sense: pendulous object): related to _lob ¹

Example Sentences

It was a contrast to the criticisms lobbed at agencies like the Bureau of Labor Statistics in the past year that contended the data produced wasn’t up to snuff.

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“I couldn’t believe he threw it. Here I am again. I can’t believe he threw the lob.”

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The bidding war stretched 20 minutes before a different anonymous collector bidding over the telephone and lobbing bids in multimillion-dollar increments eventually won the work.

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Any more than 20 minutes in this shattered frontline village and Somalia's Al-Shabaab militants could start lobbing mortars at their position.

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Sinner took the lead thanks to a brilliant lob which set up set point, and he made no mistake with a missile of a serve which Alcaraz could only limply send wide.

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Related Words

• flip 
• hurl 
• loft