capable of moving or being moved readily.
Digital Technology. pertaining to or noting a cell phone, usually one with computing ability, or a portable, wireless computing device used while held in the hand, as in
utilizing motor vehicles for ready movement.
a mobile library.
Military. permanently equipped with vehicles for transport.
flowing freely, as a liquid.
changeable or changing easily in expression, mood, purpose, etc..
a mobile face.
quickly responding to impulses, emotions, etc., as the mind.
Sociology.
characterized by or permitting the mixing of social groups.
characterized by or permitting relatively free movement from one social class or level to another.
of or relating to a mobile.
a piece of sculpture having delicately balanced units constructed of rods and sheets of metal or other material suspended in midair by wire or twine so that the individual parts can move independently, as when stirred by a breeze.
Informal. a mobile home.
Citizens Band Radio Slang. a vehicle.
a seaport in SW Alabama at the mouth of the Mobile River.
a river in SW Alabama, formed by the confluence of the Alabama and Tombigbee rivers. 38 miles (61 km) long.
having freedom of movement; movable
changing quickly in expression
a mobile face
sociol (of individuals or social groups) moving within and between classes, occupations, and localities
upwardly mobile
(of military forces) able to move freely and quickly to any given area
informal (postpositive) having transport available
are you mobile tonight?
a sculpture suspended in midair with delicately balanced parts that are set in motion by air currents
( as modifier ) Compare stabile
mobile sculpture
short for mobile phone
Alexander Calder, a twentieth-century American sculptor, is known for his mobiles.
First recorded in 1450–1500; late Middle English, from Middle French, from Latin, neuter of mōbilis “movable,” contraction of assumed movibilis, equivalent to movi- (stem of movēre “to set in motion, impel, move”) + -bilis adjective suffix; see origin at move, -ble
When something is mobile it can move or be moved easily. If you walk to the end of the block talking on your cell phone, you are a mobile being using a mobile device. A mobile is something you hang over a crib to entertain the baby, or a scale model of the universe. In 1940, the word mobile was first used to refer to a house that could be easily moved — a mobile home. If someone says to you jokingly that they "are not mobile," it means that their car is not working. It will be hard for them to be upwardly mobile, or to improve their social status, if they don't get mobile and get to work soon!
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The company this week rolled out ads touting mobile service, where roving technicians, equipped with special service vans, travel to wherever customers are and perform diagnostics, maintenance and some repairs on site.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 6, 2026
This computation solves ancient problems from our evolutionary history that arise from having a mobile, complex body with many senses and conflicting needs.
From Science Daily • Jun. 5, 2026
In February, the company fully acquired Mattel163 mobile game studio after buying out a stake held by Chinese tech firm NetEase.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 4, 2026
Ofcom said mobile networks and local authorities needed to "step up" to provide more reliable services across the country.
From BBC • Jun. 3, 2026
It was an actual house, not a mobile home.
From "Healer of the Water Monster" by Brian Young
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.
