bob

bob

synonyms, antonyms, definitions, examples & translations of bob in English

English Online Dictionary. What means bob‎? What does bob mean?

Translingual

Symbol

bob

  1. (international standards) ISO 639-3 language code for Aweer.

See also

  • Wiktionary’s coverage of Aweer terms

English

Pronunciation

  • (Received Pronunciation) enPR: bŏb, IPA(key): /bɒb/
  • Rhymes: -ɒb
  • (US) enPR: bäb, IPA(key): /bɑb/
  • Rhymes: -ɑːb

Etymology 1

From Middle English bobben (“to strike, beat, shake, jog”), of uncertain origin. Compare Scots bob (“to mark, dance with a bobbing motion”), Icelandic boppa (“to wave up and down”), Swedish bobba (“to bob”), Dutch dobberen ("bobbing").

Verb

bob (third-person singular simple present bobs, present participle bobbing, simple past and past participle bobbed)

  1. (intransitive) 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.
  2. (transitive) To move (something) as though it were bobbing in water.
    bob one’s head (= to nod)
    1. (with on) To perform oral sex on someone.
  3. To curtsy.
  4. To strike with a quick, light blow; to tap.
  5. (intransitive) Synonym of blob (“catch eels using worms strung on thread”).
Derived terms
Translations

Noun

bob (plural bobs)

  1. A bobbing motion; a quick up and down movement.
    a bob of the head
  2. A curtsy.
  3. A bobber (buoyant fishing device).
  4. Any of various hesperiid butterflies.
Derived terms
Translations

Etymology 2

From Middle English bobbe (“a cluster (of fruit); a twig with its leaves, a spray”).

Noun

bob (plural bobs)

  1. A bob haircut.
  2. Any round object attached loosely to a flexible line, a rod, a body part etc., so that it may swing when hanging from it.
  3. The dangling mass of a pendulum or plumb line.
  4. The docked tail of a horse.
  5. The short runner of a sled.
  6. A bobsleigh.
  7. A small wheel, made of leather, with rounded edges, used in polishing spoons, etc.
  8. A working beam in a steam engine.
  9. A particular style of ringing changes on bells.
  10. A blow; a shake or jog; a rap, as with the fist.
  11. (obsolete) A knot or short curl of hair; also, a bob wig.
  12. (obsolete) The refrain of a song.
  13. A short line ending a stanza of a poem.
    Coordinate terms: wheel, bobwheel
  14. (obsolete) A jeer; a sharp jest or taunt.
Derived terms
Translations

Verb

bob (third-person singular simple present bobs, present participle bobbing, simple past and past participle bobbed)

  1. (transitive) To cut (hair) into a bob haircut.
  2. (transitive) To shorten by cutting; to dock; to crop.
  3. To bobsleigh.
Translations

Etymology 3

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Noun

bob (plural bob or (rare) bobs)

  1. (Kenya, slang; UK and Australia, historical, dated) A shilling.
  2. (Australia, dated slang) A 10-cent coin.
  3. (slang) An unspecified amount of money.
Usage notes
  • The use of bob for shilling is dated slang in the UK and Australia, since decimalisation. In East African countries where the currency is the shilling, it is current usage, and not considered slang. OED gives first usage as 1789.
  • The use of bob to describe a 10-cent coin is derived from the fact that it was of equal worth to a shilling during decimalisation, however since then, the term has slowly dropped out of usage and is seldom used today.
Derived terms

Etymology 4

Noun

bob (plural bobs)

  1. Abbreviation of shishkabob.

Etymology 5

blitter object

Noun

bob (plural bobs)

  1. (computer graphics, demoscene) A graphical element, resembling a hardware sprite, that can be blitted around the screen in large numbers.
Derived terms
  • shadebob

See also

Anagrams

  • obb

Dutch

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /bɔp/
  • Hyphenation: bob
  • Rhymes: -ɔp
  • Homophone: Bob

Etymology 1

Noun

bob m (plural bobs, diminutive bobje n)

  1. alternative form of Bob (“designated driver”)

Etymology 2

Borrowed from English bob.

Noun

bob f or m (plural bobs)

  1. (winter sports) bob, bobsleigh
    Synonym: bobslee

French

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /bɔb/

Etymology 1

From the English personal name Bob, used to designate light infantrymen, and probably introduced into French during the First World War.

Noun

bob m (plural bobs)

  1. bucket hat, fishing hat

Etymology 2

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Noun

bob m (plural bobs)

  1. (Belgium) designated driver, DD

Further reading

  • “bob”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Hungarian

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [ˈbob]
  • Hyphenation: bob
  • Rhymes: -ob

Noun

bob (plural bobok)

  1. bobsleigh
  2. a type of sled (a flat-bottomed concave plastic sled with no runners, equipped with brakes)
  3. a car used on the track of an alpine slide or bobsled rollercoaster (mountain coaster)

Declension

Synonyms

Derived terms

Further reading

  • bob in Nóra Ittzés, editor, A magyar nyelv nagyszótára [A Comprehensive Dictionary of the Hungarian Language] (Nszt.), Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 2006–2031 (work in progress; published a–ez as of 2024).

Irish

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Noun

bob m (genitive singular bob, nominative plural bobanna)

  1. (hair) bob
    1. fringe (of hair over forehead)
    2. bob(tail)
      Synonym: bob eireabaill

Derived terms

Noun

bob m (genitive singular bob, nominative plural bobanna)

  1. stump, target (in games)

Declension

Derived terms

  • bob a bhualadh ar dhuine (“to play a trick on someone”)

Mutation

References

  • Ó Dónaill, Niall (1977) “bob”, in Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla, Dublin: An Gúm, →ISBN
  • de Bhaldraithe, Tomás (1959) “bob”, in English-Irish Dictionary, An Gúm
  • “bob”, in New English-Irish Dictionary, Foras na Gaeilge, 2013–2025

Italian

Etymology

Pseudo-anglicism, a clipping of English bobsled.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈbɔb/
  • Rhymes: -ɔb
  • Hyphenation: bòb

Noun

bob m (invariable)

  1. bobsleigh / bobsled
    Synonym: (rare) guidoslitta

Related terms

  • bobbista

Lower Sorbian

Etymology

From Proto-Slavic *bobъ, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰabʰ-. Cognate with Upper Sorbian bob, Polish bób, Czech bob, Russian боб (bob), Serbo-Croatian bȍb.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /bɔp/

Noun

bob m inan

  1. (uncountable) bean plant
  2. beanfield

Declension

Derived terms

  • bobowka f (“an individual bean seed”)

See also

  • tšuka f (“bean pod”)

Further reading

  • Muka, Arnošt (1921, 1928) “bob”, in Słownik dolnoserbskeje rěcy a jeje narěcow (in German), St. Petersburg, Prague: ОРЯС РАН, ČAVU; Reprinted Bautzen: Domowina-Verlag, 2008
  • Starosta, Manfred (1999) “bob”, in Dolnoserbsko-nimski słownik / Niedersorbisch-deutsches Wörterbuch (in German), Bautzen: Domowina-Verlag

Portuguese

Alternative forms

  • bobe
  • bóbi

Pronunciation

  • (Brazil) IPA(key): /ˈbɔ.bi/

Noun

bob m (plural bobes)

  1. curler (small cylindrical tube)
  2. hair roller, hair curler

Romanian

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈbob/

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Serbo-Croatian bȍb.

Noun

bob n (plural boabe)

  1. a type of bean, field bean, horse bean, broad bean
  2. a grain
  3. any seed, pit, stone, berry
Declension
Related terms
  • boabă

See also

  • sămânță
  • grăunte

Etymology 2

Borrowed from English bobsleigh.

Noun

bob n (plural boburi)

  1. bobsleigh
Declension

See also

  • sanie

Scots

Etymology 1

From Middle English bobbe (“cluster of fruit; spray of leaves”).

Noun

bob (plural bobs)

  1. a bunch, a cluster (of things)
  2. (obsolete) a nosegay, bunch of flowers
  3. a knot; a bunch of ribbon
  4. a patch of rich grass

Verb

bob (third-person singular simple present bobs, present participle bobbin, simple past bobbit, past participle bobbit)

  1. (of grass) to grow richly in patches

Etymology 2

Uncertain. Possibly onomatopoeic expressing quick movement, but compare English bob, above.

Noun

bob (plural bobs)

  1. a dance

Verb

bob (third-person singular simple present bobs, present participle bobbin, simple past bobbit, past participle bobbit)

  1. to dance with up-and-down movement
    Synonym: bab

Etymology 3

Unknown. Possibly from Middle English bobben (“to strike”), from Old French bober, baubir (“to mock, deride”).

Noun

bob (plural bobs)

  1. a target, a mark to aim at
  2. a taunt

References

Serbo-Croatian

Etymology 1

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *bobъ.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /bôb/

Noun

bȍb m (Cyrillic spelling бо̏б)

  1. broad bean
  2. horse bean
Declension

Etymology 2

From English bob.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /bôb/

Noun

bȍb m (Cyrillic spelling бо̏б)

  1. bobsled
Declension

Sicilian

Noun

bob m

  1. bobsleigh / bobsled

Spanish

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈbob/ [ˈboβ̞]
  • Rhymes: -ob
  • Syllabification: bob

Noun

bob m (plural bobs)

  1. bob, bob haircut (hairstyle)

Welsh

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /boːb/

Adjective

bob

  1. soft mutation of pob

Mutation

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This article based on an article on Wiktionary. The list of authors can be seen in the page history there. The original work has been modified. This article is distributed under the terms of this license.