lob

¹ American  

[lob] / lɒb /

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.

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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 American  

[lob] / lɒb /

noun

1. lobworm.

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lob ¹ British  

/ lɒb /

noun

1. a ball struck in a high arc

2. cricket a ball bowled in a slow high arc

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verb

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

2. informal to throw, esp in a high arc

lob ² British  

/ lɒb /

noun

1. short for lobworm

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Other Word Forms

• lobber
  noun

Etymology

Origin of lob

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.

Explanation

When you lob something, you throw it up very high. If you lob a baseball from the outfield to the pitcher, you hurl it in an arc that ends right where the pitcher can catch it. If you propel an object in an arc, you lob it. For example, a soldier might lob a missile at the enemy. Tennis players can lob a ball by hitting it up and over the net. Today the noun lob means a throw (or hit) that follows an arc, but in the 14th century a lob was a "lazy lout," and in the 16th century it was "a lumpish thing."

Example Sentences

He’s used that same platform to lob explosive accusations at critics and allies alike, blowing up a professional and personal relationship with President Donald Trump by tying him to the Epstein files.

From Slate • Apr. 30, 2026

It’s been a while since Bronny James caught a lob from his 41-year-old teammate.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 25, 2026

She has been in electric form for Chelsea in recent weeks, including scoring an audacious lob in their Women's Champions League quarter-final defeat by Arsenal.

From BBC • Apr. 14, 2026

There is no public list of employees or advisers to which to lob an appeal.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 8, 2026

It was a suborbital lob shot, and though the spacecraft was empty, the newspapers said it was the opening round of America’s program to put men into space.

From "October Sky" by Homer Hickam

Related Words

• flip
• hurl
• loft