Adjacent Words

Bob definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

BOB, n. Any little round thing, that plays loosely at the end of a string, cord, or movable machine; a little ornament or pendant that hangs so as to play loosely.
Our common people apply the word to a knot of worms, on a string,used in fishing for eels.
1. The words repeated at the end of a stanza.
2. A blow; a shake or jog; a jeer or flout.
3. The ball of a short pendulum.
4. A mode of ringing.
5. A bob-wig.
BOB, v.i. To play backward and forward; to play loosely against any thing.
1. To angle, or fish for eels, or to catch eels with a bob.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a former monetary unit in Great Britain [syn: British shilling, shilling, bob]
2: a hair style for women and children; a short haircut all around
3: a long racing sled (for 2 or more people) with a steering mechanism [syn: bobsled, bobsleigh, bob]
4: a hanging weight, especially a metal ball on a string
5: a small float usually made of cork; attached to a fishing line [syn: bob, bobber, cork, bobfloat]
6: a short or shortened tail of certain animals [syn: bobtail, bob, dock]
7: a short abrupt inclination (as of the head); "he gave me a short bob of acknowledgement" v
1: move up and down repeatedly; "her rucksack bobbed gently on her back"
2: ride a bobsled; "The boys bobbed down the hill screaming with pleasure" [syn: bobsled, bob]
3: remove or shorten the tail of an animal [syn: dock, tail, bob]
4: make a curtsy; usually done only by girls and women; as a sign of respect; "She curtsied when she shook the Queen's hand" [syn: curtsy, bob]
5: cut hair in the style of a bob; "Bernice bobs her hair these days!"

Merriam Webster's

I. verb (bobbed; bobbing) Etymology: Middle English boben Date: 13th century transitive verb 1. to strike with a quick light blow ; rap 2. to move up and down in a short quick movement <bob the head> 3. to polish with a bob ; buff intransitive verb 1. a. to move up and down briefly or repeatedly <a cork bobbed in the water> b. to emerge, arise, or appear suddenly or unexpectedly <the question bobbed up again> 2. to nod or curtsy briefly 3. to try to seize a suspended or floating object with the teeth <bob for apples> II. noun Date: circa 1550 1. a. a short quick down-and-up motion b. Scottish any of several folk dances 2. obsolete a blow or tap especially with the fist 3. a. a modification of the order in change ringing b. a method of change ringing using a bob 4. a small polishing wheel of solid felt or leather with rounded edges III. transitive verb (bobbed; bobbing) Etymology: Middle English bobben, from Old French bober Date: 14th century 1. obsolete deceive, cheat 2. obsolete to take by fraud ; filch IV. noun Etymology: Middle English bobbe Date: 14th century 1. a. (1) bunch, cluster (2) Scottish nosegay b. a knob, knot, twist, or curl especially of ribbons, yarn, or hair c. a short haircut on a woman or child 2. float 2a 3. a hanging ball or weight (as on a plumb line) 4. trifle 1 <bits and bobs> V. transitive verb (bobbed; bobbing) Date: 1675 1. to cut shorter ; crop <bob a horse's tail> 2. to cut (hair) in the style of a bob VI. noun (plural bob) Etymology: perhaps from the name Bob Date: 1789 slang British shilling VII. noun Date: 1856 bobsled

Oxford Reference Dictionary

1. v. & n. --v.intr. (bobbed, bobbing) 1 move quickly up and down; dance. 2 (usu. foll. by back, up) a bounce buoyantly. b emerge suddenly; become active or conspicuous again after a defeat etc. 3 curtsy. 4 (foll. by for) try to catch with the mouth alone (fruit etc. floating or hanging). --n. 1 a jerking or bouncing movement, esp. upward. 2 a curtsy. 3 one of several kinds of change in long peals in bell-ringing. Etymology: 14th c.: prob. imit. 2. n. & v. --n. 1 a short hairstyle for women and children. 2 a weight on a pendulum, plumb-line, or kite-tail. 3 = BOB-SLEIGH. 4 a horse's docked tail. 5 a short line at or towards the end of a stanza. 6 a knot of hair; a tassel-shaped curl. --v. (bobbed, bobbing) 1 tr. cut (a woman's or child's hair) so that it hangs clear of the shoulders. 2 intr. ride on a bob-sleigh. Etymology: ME: orig. unkn. 3. n. (pl. same) Brit. sl. a former shilling (now = 5 decimal pence). Etymology: 19th c.: orig. unkn. 4. n. Phrases and idioms: bob's your uncle Brit. sl. an expression of completion or satisfaction. Etymology: pet-form of the name Robert

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Bob Bob, v. i. 1. To have a short, jerking motion; to play to and fro, or up and down; to play loosely against anything. ``Bobbing and courtesying.'' --Thackeray. 2. To angle with a bob. See Bob, n., 2 & 3. He ne'er had learned the art to bob For anything but eels. --Saxe. To bob at an apple, cherry, etc. to attempt to bite or seize with the mouth an apple, cherry, or other round fruit, while it is swinging from a string or floating in a tug of water.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Bob Bob, n. [An onomatopoetic word, expressing quick, jerky motion; OE. bob bunch, bobben to strike, mock, deceive. Cf. Prov. Eng. bob, n., a ball, an engine beam, bunch, blast, trick, taunt, scoff; as, a v., to dance, to courtesy, to disappoint, OF. bober to mock.] 1. Anything that hangs so as to play loosely, or with a short abrupt motion, as at the end of a string; a pendant; as, the bob at the end of a kite's tail. In jewels dressed and at each ear a bob. --Dryden. 2. A knot of worms, or of rags, on a string, used in angling, as for eels; formerly, a worm suitable for bait. Or yellow bobs, turned up before the plow, Are chiefest baits, with cork and lead enow. --Lauson. 3. A small piece of cork or light wood attached to a fishing line to show when a fish is biting; a float. 4. The ball or heavy part of a pendulum; also, the ball or weight at the end of a plumb line. 5. A small wheel, made of leather, with rounded edges, used in polishing spoons, etc. 6. A short, jerking motion; act of bobbing; as, a bob of the head. 7. (Steam Engine) A working beam. 8. A knot or short curl of hair; also, a bob wig. A plain brown bob he wore. --Shenstone. 9. A peculiar mode of ringing changes on bells. 10. The refrain of a song. To bed, to bed, will be the bob of the song. --L'Estrange. 11. A blow; a shake or jog; a rap, as with the fist. 12. A jeer or flout; a sharp jest or taunt; a trick. He that a fool doth very wisely hit, Doth very foolishly, although he smart, Not to seem senseless of the bob. --Shak. 13. A shilling. [Slang, Eng.] --Dickens.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Bob Bob, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Bobbed; p. pr. & vb. n. Bobbing.] [OE. bobben. See Bob, n.] 1. To cause to move in a short, jerking manner; to move (a thing) with a bob. ``He bobbed his head.'' --W. Irving. 2. To strike with a quick, light blow; to tap. If any man happened by long sitting to sleep . . . he was suddenly bobbed on the face by the servants. --Elyot. 3. To cheat; to gain by fraud or cheating; to filch. Gold and jewels that I bobbed from him. --Shak. 4. To mock or delude; to cheat. To play her pranks, and bob the fool, The shrewish wife began. --Turbervile. 5. To cut short; as, to bob the hair, or a horse's tail.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(bobs, bobbing, bobbed) 1. If something bobs, it moves up and down, like something does when it is floating on water. Huge balloons bobbed about in the sky above... VERB: V prep/adv 2. If you bob somewhere, you move there quickly so that you disappear from view or come into view. She handed over a form, then bobbed down again behind a typewriter. VERB: V adv/prep 3. When you bob your head, you move it quickly up and down once, for example when you greet someone. A hostess stood at the top of the steps and bobbed her head at each passenger. = nod VERB: V n • Bob is also a noun. The young man smiled with a bob of his head. = nod N-COUNT 4. A bob is a fairly short hair style for women in which the hair is the same length all the way round, except for the front. N-COUNT 5. Bits and bobs are small objects or parts of something. (mainly BRIT INFORMAL) The microscope contains a few hundred dollars-worth of electronic bits and bobs. PHRASE

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. v. a. 1. Move with a jerk. 2. Strike (suddenly and lightly), rap, knock. 3. Clip, cut short. 4. (Rare.) Steal, purloin, rob, pilfer, filch, cabbage, get by fraud. II. v. n. 1. Play back and forward, have a jerking motion. 2. Angle (with a jerking motion), fish. III. n. 1. Jerking motion. 2. Pendant, hanging appendage.

1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue

A shoplifter's assistant, or one that receives and carries off stolen goods. All is bob; all is safe. Cant.

1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue

A shilling.

Moby Thesaurus

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