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• mobile
  mobile

  adjective

  capable of moving or being moved readily.
• Mobile
  Mobile

  noun

  a seaport in SW Alabama at the mouth of the Mobile River.
• -mobile
  -mobile

  a combining form extracted from automobile, occurring as the final element in compounds denoting specialized types of motorized conveyances: snowmobile; especially productive in coinages naming vehicles equipped to procure or deliver objects, provide services, etc., to people without regular access to these: bloodmobile; bookmobile; clubmobile; jazzmobile.

mobile

¹ American  

[moh-buhl, -beel, -bahyl] / ˈmoʊ bəl, -bil, -baɪl /

adjective

1. capable of moving or being moved readily.

2. 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

3. utilizing motor vehicles for ready movement.

   a mobile library.

4. Military. permanently equipped with vehicles for transport.

5. flowing freely, as a liquid.

6. changeable or changing easily in expression, mood, purpose, etc..

   a mobile face.

7. quickly responding to impulses, emotions, etc., as the mind.

8. Sociology.

   1. characterized by or permitting the mixing of social groups.

   2. characterized by or permitting relatively free movement from one social class or level to another.

9. of or relating to a mobile.

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noun

• mobiles
  plural

1. 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.

2. mobile phone.

3. Informal. a mobile home.

4. Citizens Band Radio Slang. a vehicle.

Mobile ² American  

[moh-beel, moh-beel] / moʊˈbil, ˈmoʊ bil /

noun

1. a seaport in SW Alabama at the mouth of the Mobile River.

2. a river in SW Alabama, formed by the confluence of the Alabama and Tombigbee rivers. 38 miles (61 km) long.

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-mobile ³ American  

1. a combining form extracted from automobile, occurring as the final element in compounds denoting specialized types of motorized conveyances: snowmobile; especially productive in coinages naming vehicles equipped to procure or deliver objects, provide services, etc., to people without regular access to these: bloodmobile; bookmobile; clubmobile; jazzmobile.

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-mobile ¹ British  

/ məʊˌbiːl /

suffix

1. indicating a vehicle designed for a particular person or purpose

   Popemobile

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Mobile ² British  

/ ˈməʊbiːl, məʊˈbiːl /

noun

1. a port in SW Alabama, on Mobile Bay (an inlet of the Gulf of Mexico): the state's only port and its first permanent settlement, made by French colonists in 1711. Pop: 193 464 (2003 est)

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mobile ³ British  

/ ˈməʊbaɪl /

adjective

1. having freedom of movement; movable

2. changing quickly in expression

   a mobile face

3. sociol (of individuals or social groups) moving within and between classes, occupations, and localities

   upwardly mobile

4. (of military forces) able to move freely and quickly to any given area

5. informal (postpositive) having transport available

   are you mobile tonight?

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noun

1. 1. a sculpture suspended in midair with delicately balanced parts that are set in motion by air currents

   2. ( as modifier ) Compare stabile

      mobile sculpture

2. short for mobile phone

mobile Cultural  

1. A sculpture made up of suspended shapes that move.

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Discover More

Alexander Calder, a twentieth-century American sculptor, is known for his mobiles.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonmobile
  adjective
• semimobile
  adjective
• unmobile
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• mobiles
  plural

Etymology

Origin of mobile

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

Explanation

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!

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

mobile Mobile -mobile mobiles

The system recalculates the patient’s risk every hour, but clinicians told the researchers they didn’t want another alert adding to alarm fatigue, so Concern doesn’t page, buzz or send a mobile notification.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 28, 2026

People have been using text messages and other mobile interfaces to have A.I. models run internet errands for them for a while.

From Slate ● Sep. 23, 2026

Her attorney, Kevin Reddington, wants the court to probe mobile phone use by "Juror Doe" during deliberations as well as a questionnaire he filled out.

From BBC ● Sep. 22, 2026

For most of the years between the comedy’s debut in 1984 through its 1992 cancellation, the upwardly mobile Huxtables shaped how white America viewed a specific segment of black America, for good or ill.

From Salon ● Apr. 27, 2018

He was setting his mobile phone down on the desk and reaching for his cane.

From "Flying Through Water" by Mamle Wolo

U Mobile led Malaysia’s 5G and overall download speeds in the latest Opensignal report, although its coverage and app experience remained mixed, he notes.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2026

Airtel Money, also known as Airtel Mobile Commerce, said Wednesday that the shares would be sold by existing shareholders and that upon admission it expects it will have a free float of at least 10%.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 23, 2026

Mobile UK said that mobile operators had invested "billions of pounds to upgrade their networks across London" and were committed to working with the government and local councils to improve mobile phone service.

From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026

Mobile UK, the trade association representing the UK's major mobile networks, said London's mobile phone connectivity "continues to lag frustratingly behind other international hubs".

From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026

Atticus put down the Mobile Press and looked at her.

From "Go Set a Watchman: A Novel" by Harper Lee

Regardless of our religious backgrounds or belief systems, we tend to take note not only of what the pope says and does, but what he wears, what kind of -mobile he’s driven around in — and what he eats.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 16, 2016

Over time, her work expanded to include glass and brass mobiles and wall hangings, which are now sold in independent shops and museum gift stores across the country.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 18, 2026

The families worked closely at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, where they funded a major expansion and filled its rooms with their Warhol paintings and Calder mobiles.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 30, 2026

The station has for several weeks been transformed into a "point of invincibility", providing a place of warmth for the population and for them to recharge their mobiles.

From Barron's ● Feb. 13, 2026

But we do know that in the 2023 case 20 mobiles belonging to migrants went missing for 25 days.

From BBC ● Feb. 4, 2026

Naomi was designing reflective mobiles to hang from the basketball hoops.

From "Schooled" by Gordon Korman