nobble

[ nob-uh l ]

/ ˈnɒb əl /

verb (used with object), nob·bled, nob·bling. British Slang.

to drug or disable (a race horse) to prevent its winning a race.

to convince (a person) by fraudulent methods; misrepresent or lie to.

to swindle; defraud.

to seize (a person); hold for arrest.

Nearby words

noah's ark, noah's dove, noahide laws, nob, nob hill, nobble, nobbut, nobby, nobel, nobel laureate, nobel prize

Origin of nobble

1840–50; back formation from nobbler, variant of hobbler (dial. phrase an 'obbler being taken as a nobbler)

Related forms

nob·bler, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for nobble

Away at Nobble the females by whom he had been surrounded had not been attractive to him.
John Caldigate|Anthony Trollope
She was aware that letters were stamped at Nobble generally.
John Caldigate|Anthony Trollope
She could not account for the absence of the Nobble postmark.
John Caldigate|Anthony Trollope
Mrs. Henniker, of the hotel at Nobble, had offered to swear that there had been no marriage.
John Caldigate|Anthony Trollope

A letter so sent would, as you have been informed, bear two postmarks, those of Sydney and of Nobble.
John Caldigate|Anthony Trollope

British Dictionary definitions for nobble

nobble

/ (ˈnɒbəl) /

verb (tr) British slang

to disable (a racehorse), esp with drugs

to win over or outwit (a person) by underhand means

to suborn (a person, esp a juror) by threats, bribery, etc

to steal; filch

to get hold of; grab

to kidnap

Derived Forms

nobbler, noun

Word Origin for nobble

C19: back formation from nobbler, from false division of an hobbler (one who hobbles horses) as a nobbler

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012