overwordExplorer
ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

blubber.

Often followed by out: to cry out (words) while sobbing.

7 characters2 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

verb/ˈblʌbə/Received-Pronunciation/ˈblʌbəɹ/General-American, Northern-Ireland, Scotland/ˈblʊbəɹ/Ireland/ˈblʊbə/Northern-England
  1. Often followed by out: to cry out (words) while sobbing.

    transitive
  2. To wet (one's eyes or face) by crying; to beweep; also, to cause (one's face) to disfigure or swell through crying.

    also · archaic · figuratively · transitive
  3. Often followed by forth: to let (one's tears) flow freely.

    obsolete · transitive
  4. To cry or weep freely and noisily; to sob.

    derogatory · intransitive
  5. To bubble or bubble up; also, to make a bubbling sound like water boiling.

    intransitive · obsolete
Where this word comes from

The verb is derived from Late Middle English bloberen, bluberen (“to bubble, seethe”); and the noun from Late Middle English blober, bluber (“bubble; bubbling water; foaming waves; fish or whale oil; entrails, intestines; (medicine) pustule”), both probably onomatopoeic, representing the movement or sound of a bubbling liquid, or the movement of lips forming bubbles (compare bleb and blob, thought to be similarly imitative). As both the verb and noun are attested in the 14th century, it is difficult to tell which one developed first; the Oxford English Dictionary suggests that the noun may be derived from the verb. Verb etymology 1, verb sense 1.2 (“to cause (one’s face) to disfigure or swell through crying”) is influenced by blubber (adjective).

noun/ˈblʌbə/Received-Pronunciation/ˈblʌbəɹ/General-American, Northern-Ireland, Scotland/ˈblʊbəɹ/Ireland/ˈblʊbə/Northern-England
  1. A fatty layer of adipose tissue found immediately beneath the epidermis of whales and other cetaceans (infraorder Cetacea).

    countable · uncountable
  2. A fatty layer of adipose tissue found immediately beneath the epidermis of whales and other cetaceans (infraorder Cetacea). A fatty layer of adipose tissue found in other animals which keeps them warm, especially Arctic animals such as sea lions and Antarctic animals such as penguins.

    uncountable
  3. A fatty layer of adipose tissue found immediately beneath the epidermis of whales and other cetaceans (infraorder Cetacea). A person's fat tissue, usually when regarded as excessive and unsightly.

    derogatory · informal · offensive · uncountable
  4. A fatty layer of adipose tissue found immediately beneath the epidermis of whales and other cetaceans (infraorder Cetacea). A jellyfish (subphylum Medusozoa).

    archaic · broadly · countable
  5. An act of crying or weeping freely and noisily.

    countable · derogatory
  6. A bubble.

    countable · obsolete
Where this word comes from

The verb is derived from Late Middle English bloberen, bluberen (“to bubble, seethe”); and the noun from Late Middle English blober, bluber (“bubble; bubbling water; foaming waves; fish or whale oil; entrails, intestines; (medicine) pustule”), both probably onomatopoeic, representing the movement or sound of a bubbling liquid, or the movement of lips forming bubbles (compare bleb and blob, thought to be similarly imitative). As both the verb and noun are attested in the 14th century, it is difficult to tell which one developed first; the Oxford English Dictionary suggests that the noun may be derived from the verb. Verb etymology 1, verb sense 1.2 (“to cause (one’s face) to disfigure or swell through crying”) is influenced by blubber (adjective).

noun/ˈblʌbə/Received-Pronunciation/ˈblʌbəɹ/General-American, Northern-Ireland, Scotland/ˈblʊbəɹ/Ireland/ˈblʊbə/Northern-England
  1. One who blubs (“cries or weeps freely and noisily”); a blubberer.

Where this word comes from

From blub + -er (suffix forming agent nouns).

adj/ˈblʌbə/Received-Pronunciation/ˈblʌbəɹ/General-American, Northern-Ireland, Scotland/ˈblʊbəɹ/Ireland/ˈblʊbə/Northern-England
  1. Especially of lips: protruding, swollen.

    archaic · not-comparable
Where this word comes from

A variant of blabber and blobber, probably influenced by blub and blubber (noun).

FROM WORD TO NAME

Try it on your idea.

blubber has 7 characters. Say it out loud, try it alongside a description of your project, and see whether its meaning fits what you want to create.

blubber studioblubber workshello, blubber

These are naming prompts. Meanings and pronunciation can vary; existing brand and domain uses have not been checked.

Explore the name generator

A word with a source.

Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.