to weep with a convulsive catching of the breath.
to make a sound resembling this.
to utter with sobs.
to put, send, etc., by sobbing or with sobs.
to sob oneself to sleep.
the act of sobbing; a convulsive catching of the breath in weeping.
any sound suggesting this.
(intr) to weep with convulsive gasps
(tr) to utter with sobs
to cause (oneself) to be in a specified state by sobbing
to sob oneself to sleep
1150–1200; Middle English sobben, apparently imitative
If you're so upset you're crying loudly, taking in big gasps of air and heaving your chest, you are sobbing. Picture a child on the playground who has fallen and can't find his or her mother. The child's face is red and streaked with tears, and he or she is gasping from crying so hard. This poor little boy or girl is sobbing uncontrollably. Sometimes, while trying not to cry, you might let out a single sob. A "sob story" is a story meant to make you feel bad for someone, so bad you might sob for them.
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“I’ll never forget this part of my life,” she said, and, behind sunglasses, began to sob.
From Slate ● Mar. 25, 2026
And Dana takes that pause to let a sob break through her hard surface.
From Salon ● Feb. 26, 2026
Audiences who endured the Miramax era have been browbeaten to believe that the best picture Oscar should go to a period piece that chokes out a sob from audiences.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 22, 2026
"It came like an earthquake.. I thought 'Well, if I am going to die, then so be it,'" he said, beginning to sob heavily.
From Barron's ● Dec. 3, 2025
Anya’s mouth dropped open, and Mama sucked in a strangled sob.
From Anya and the Dragon by Sofiya Pasternack
“If you’re running a campaign and your candidate is seething at the other person, and all they can talk about is, ‘That S.O.B. is an idiot,’ they typically lose campaigns,” he said.
From New York Times ● Nov. 11, 2018
He famously savaged the hand that had fed him so well with S.O.B.
From The Guardian ● Dec. 16, 2010
He dropped in and out of favor, feuded with producers and famously satirized Hollywood in 1981's scathing "S.O.B."
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 16, 2010
"I had a lot of bitterness in me when I wrote the first draft," Edwards said of "S.O.B."
From Reuters ● Dec. 16, 2010
Working eight to ten hours a day for six weeks at his home in Switzerland, he churned out his first vengeful draft of S.O.B.
From Time Magazine Archive
Their inventiveness and stylishness keep the other characters from flying out of his orbit while keeping audiences riveted in their seats and even caring about the s.o.b.
From Time Magazine Archive
Seeing all this, a woman kneels and cries out between sobs.
From Barron's ● Jul. 4, 2026
The sister of Maureen Brainard-Barnes broke down into sobs as she talked about how much she missed her.
From BBC ● Jun. 17, 2026
She says she felt the stares of the press sitting behind her in the gallery, taking notes on her body language and her daughter Ashley’s sobs.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 1, 2026
Videos taken by his older sisters show the soccer star struggling to speak through sobs.
From Salon ● Jan. 14, 2026
His face was working, from his throat came those dry hideous sobs.
From "Nectar in a Sieve" by Kamala Markandaya
"I don't understand why I'm doing this, suffering and crying," sobbed Sakura – a pop veteran, who'd never encountered such vitriol in her previous bands, HKT48 and Iz*One.
From BBC ● Jun. 4, 2026
Dressed in a checked blazer in court, Parker sobbed and put her head on the defendant's table as the judge dismissed the charges against her.
From BBC ● May 21, 2026
“If they are to amount to a crime then the legislature will need to codify it,” Robinson said from the bench Thursday morning, as Parker audibly sobbed at the defense table.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 21, 2026
In a composed tone, as his wife sobbed in the audience, he spoke for hours about "Sammy," his "sophisticated and charismatic" daughter.
From Barron's ● May 6, 2026
I sobbed for a few minutes before I wiped my face on his covers.
From "Because of Mr. Terupt" by Rob Buyea
The movie has a pastoral coziness and lots of silly humor, but it’s also a moving meditation on death that has adults sobbing.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 2026
She was generally right on target for the dramatic stories related, as take-charge and cheeky, witty, or sobbing and heartbroken as the lyrics required.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026
Videos online showed him sobbing as he ran out of the burning bar.
From BBC ● Jul. 13, 2026
"He is in there," he said, sobbing as he looked at the remains of what was once a building.
From Barron's ● Jun. 26, 2026
He led the sobbing little friar out of his hiding place.
From "Redwall" by Brian Jacques
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.
