lob

¹ American  

[lob] / lɒb /

verb (used with object)

• lobs,
  present (3rd person singular)
• lobbed,
  past participle,  past
• lobbing
  present participle

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)

• lobs,
  present (3rd person singular)
• lobbed,
  past participle,  past
• lobbing
  present participle

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

Derived Forms

• lobber
  noun

Inflected Forms

Participles

• lobbing
  present
• lobbed
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• lob
  simple
• lobs
  simple
• have lobbed
  perfect
• has lobbed
  perfect
• am lobbing
  progressive
• are lobbing
  progressive
• is lobbing
  progressive
• have been lobbing
  perfect progressive
• has been lobbing
  perfect progressive

Past

• lobbed
  simple
• had lobbed
  perfect
• was lobbing
  progressive
• were lobbing
  progressive
• had been lobbing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will lob
  simple
• will have lobbed
  perfect
• will be lobbing
  progressive
• will have been lobbing
  perfect progressive

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

See Examples For:

lob lobs lobbed lobbing

His high-profile targets went on to include the future French president Nicolas Sarkozy in 1997 -- although in that case he had an accomplice lob the actual pie for fear of being recognised.

From Barron's ● Aug. 24, 2026

“No one has a right to lob unfounded accusations without a response. Director Patel, as well as any Trump administration official, has a right to defend themselves,” the FBI said in a statement.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026

Playing with variety and spin, Chwalinska can lob, drop shot and moonball her opponents to distraction, but she can also hit with pace to finish off points quickly.

From BBC ● Jun. 4, 2026

Who will best slot in alongside Doncic, the heliocentric star who everyone knows thrives when paired with defenders, shooters and lob threats?

From Los Angeles Times ● May 6, 2026

Sometimes we’d have snowball fights by old First Congregational, and Joseph would defend from behind the Bridge Out sign, or sometimes we’d just lob snowballs at the bell.

From "Orbiting Jupiter" by Gary D. Schmidt

There's actually two Spurs players on the line and he still lobs it into the goal.

From BBC ● May 19, 2026

The rally - full of extraordinary drop shots, lobs and smashes - will take some beating this year.

From BBC ● Mar. 12, 2026

He then dominated the tie-break, capitalising on a run of backhand errors from Alcaraz and executing a couple of pinpoint lobs, to seal the first set.

From BBC ● Nov. 16, 2025

“We’re trying to figure out some stuff for lobs and all that,” Dent said, “but we’re getting it down a lot.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2025

Hennessey lobs the ball back to Cala, and as the LXT batter repositions herself, I use my fingers to signal my suggested pitch: rising curve, outside edge.

From "Fast Pitch" by Nic Stone

Now, one of its rivals has lobbed a buyout offer.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 19, 2026

Sticking to largely sycophantic media who lobbed softball questions hardened his ceiling.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 10, 2026

His returns were often unorthodox and he was fond of a lobbed service return to unsettle opponents.

From BBC ● Apr. 15, 2026

I was a fresh-faced high school senior, living out the prime of my teenage youth in an increasingly progressive world where fundamentalist doomsday prophecies were lobbed around in jest.

From Salon ● Dec. 21, 2025

He lobbed it at Passalos, who was trying to juggle two pigeons and the Archimedes sphere.

From "The House of Hades" by Rick Riordan

It’s easy to be the candidate lobbing criticisms, or even the defense lawyer arguing the facts.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2026

Nicknamed "the Glooper" for his cries of "Gloop! Gloop!" after each strike, Godin spent more than three decades lobbing pies at rich and famous targets he felt needed bringing down a notch.

From Barron's ● Aug. 24, 2026

But so far she hasn’t stumped for him, instead lobbing veiled criticisms of Talarico’s efforts to win over Black voters.

From Slate ● Aug. 14, 2026

Wembanyama was brilliant, scoring 32 points as San Antonio at last discovered the simple ritual of lobbing the ball to the impossibly tall guy under the basket.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 9, 2026

“Right,” said Harry, crumpling up his first attempt and lobbing it over the heads of a group of chattering first years into the fire.

From "Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire" by J. K. Rowling

Related Words

• flip
• hurl
• loft