bob.
To move gently and vertically, in either a single motion or repeatedly up and down, at or near the surface of a body of water, or similar medium.
Meaning & usage
To move gently and vertically, in either a single motion or repeatedly up and down, at or near the surface of a body of water, or similar medium.
The cork bobbed gently in the calm water.
The ball, which we had thought lost, suddenly bobbed up out of the water.
To move (something) as though it were bobbing in water.
I bobbed my head underwater and saw the goldfish.
bob one’s head
To move (something) as though it were bobbing in water. To perform oral sex on someone.
She bobbed on his knob.
To curtsy.
To strike with a quick, light blow; to tap.
Synonym of blob (“catch eels using worms strung on thread”).
Where this word comes from
From Middle English bobben (“to move up and down or back and forth”), of uncertain origin. Compare Scots bob (“to mark, dance with a bobbing motion”), Icelandic boppa (“to wave up and down”), Swedish bobba (“to bob”), Faroese bøbbur (“something that rises or stands up; top”), Dutch dobberen (“to float, bob”).
A bobbing motion; a quick up and down movement.
a bob of the head
A curtsy.
A bobber (buoyant fishing device).
Any of various hesperiid butterflies.
Where this word comes from
From Middle English bobben (“to move up and down or back and forth”), of uncertain origin. Compare Scots bob (“to mark, dance with a bobbing motion”), Icelandic boppa (“to wave up and down”), Swedish bobba (“to bob”), Faroese bøbbur (“something that rises or stands up; top”), Dutch dobberen (“to float, bob”).
A bob haircut.
Any round object attached loosely to a flexible line, a rod, a body part etc., so that it may swing when hanging from it.
The dangling mass of a pendulum or plumb line.
The docked tail of a horse.
The short runner of a sled.
A bobsleigh.
A small wheel, made of leather, with rounded edges, used in polishing spoons, etc.
A working beam in a steam engine.
A particular style of ringing changes on bells.
A blow; a shake or jog; a rap, as with the fist.
A knot or short curl of hair; also, a bob wig.
The refrain of a song.
A short line ending a stanza of a poem.
A jeer; a sharp jest or taunt.
Where this word comes from
From Middle English bobbe (“a cluster (of fruit); a twig with its leaves, a spray”), perhaps of Celtic origin (compare Irish baban "tassel, cluster," Gaelic babag).
To cut (hair) into a bob haircut.
I got my hair bobbed. How do you like it?
To shorten by cutting; to dock; to crop.
To bobsleigh.
Where this word comes from
From Middle English bobbe (“a cluster (of fruit); a twig with its leaves, a spray”), perhaps of Celtic origin (compare Irish baban "tassel, cluster," Gaelic babag).
A shilling.
A 10-cent coin, ten cents.
An unspecified small amount of money.
I could have saved myself a few bob buying it somewhere else.
A graphical element, resembling a hardware sprite, that can be blitted around the screen in large numbers.
Where this word comes from
Blend of blitter object.
Clipping of shishkabob.
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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.