slob
Americannoun
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a slovenly or boorish person.
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Irish English. mud or ooze, especially a stretch of mud along a shore.
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Chiefly Canadian. sludge.
noun
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informal a slovenly, unattractive, and lazy person
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mire
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of slob
1770–80; < Irish slab ( a ) mud, mire
Explanation
A slob is someone who's messy or lazy. Tuck your shirt in and wash the dishes, you slob! You may think of your sister as a slob if she never cleans up after herself, leaving crumbs all over the house and clothes all over her room. It's a derogatory term, though, so think twice before you call her a slob out loud. An earlier meaning of the word was "muddy land," from the Irish slab, or "mud." The 1860s expression "slob of a man" led to the current definition of slob.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
I knew I was being absurd, a slob, a partial embarrassment, but I didn’t care.
From Salon • Jan. 2, 2024
He’s a lout, he’s a slob, he’s a mess — and he is enormously fine company on the page.
From New York Times • May 20, 2023
More recently, cartoonist Scott Adams satirized the attitude in a 1990s Dilbert comic strip that depicted office slob Wally taking an “in-cubicle sabbatical.”
From Washington Times • Sep. 12, 2022
I’m far from a slob but I’m definitely not like her.
From Washington Post • Aug. 27, 2022
Trey’s wavy hair escapes his ponytail; he looks like a slob.
From "Black Brother, Black Brother" by Jewell Parker Rhodes
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.
