BOB


Meaning of BOB in English

I. ˈbäb verb

( bobbed ; bobbed ; bobbing ; bobs )

Etymology: Middle English bobben, perhaps of imitative origin

transitive verb

1.

a. obsolete : strike , pommel , buffet

b. : to strike with a quick light blow : tap , rap

2.

a. : to move with a bob : cause to move down and up or up and down in a short quick movement

bob the head

b. : to move with any sudden quick movement (as back and forth or in and out)

bob your head in and out of the window

3. : to polish with a bob : buff

intransitive verb

1.

a.

(1) : to move down and up or up and down suddenly and briefly and often repeatedly

a cork bobbing in the water

a child bobbing along on a pogo stick

(2) : to emerge, arise, or appear suddenly or unexpectedly

a few minutes later it bobbed free of the boiling water — Time

— usually used with up

the same question bobs up at each town meeting

after months in hiding he bobbed up in Paris

b. : to nod the head or curtsy briefly

a little girl bobbing before a visitor

c. : to try to seize with the teeth (as an apple floating in a tub of water or hanging on a string) — used with for

bob for apples at a Halloween party

d. : to move with any sudden quick movement

he bobbed to the telephone like a puppet — Carolyn Hannay

e. : to move or go from place to place fitfully — often used with around

bobbing around town for a day or two

small birds bobbing all over the yard

2. Scotland : to dance a bob

II. noun

( -s )

1.

a. : a short quick down-and-up motion

a bob of the head

her curtsy was a mere bob

b. Scotland : any of several dances

2. obsolete : a blow, jog, tap, or rap especially with the fist

3. obsolete : taunt , gibe

4.

a. : a modification of the coursing order in change ringing

b. : a method of change ringing using a bob

bob major

5. : a small polishing wheel of solid felt or leather with rounded edges

III. transitive verb

( bobbed ; bobbed ; bobbing ; bobs )

Etymology: Middle English bobben, from Middle French bober to deceive, from bobe deceit

1. obsolete : deceive , fool , cheat

2. obsolete : to take by fraud : filch

IV. noun

( -s )

Etymology: Middle English bobbe, perhaps of Celtic origin; akin to Irish Gaelic baban tassel, tuft, Scottish Gaelic, bobbin

1.

a. : a bunch or cluster: as

(1) Scotland : a small bouquet of flowers : nosegay

(2) now chiefly dialect : a bunch of leaves, flowers, or fruit

red clover bobs

a bob of grapes

(3) : a wad of rags, bait, feathers, or hooks used in angling

b. : a knob, knot, twist, or curl especially of ribbons, yarn, or hair

c. : a wig with tight horizontal or loose vertical curls

d. : a horse's docked tail : bobtail

e. : a very short to shoulder-length haircut on a woman or child

2. archaic : a grub, worm, or beetle especially as used for bait in angling

3. : a ball or weight especially at the end of something: as

a. archaic : a pendant worn as an ornament (as in an earring or attached to a necklace)

b. : the weight at the bottom end of a pendulum

c. : the weight on a plumb line

d. : float I 4

e. : any weighting matter attached to the tail of a kite to steady it

4.

a. archaic : the refrain of a song ; specifically : a short and abrupt refrain often of two syllables

b. : a single very short line usually of two or three syllables occurring in a series of longer lines in English verse

5.

a. : clipping

the animal would be earmarked; that is, assorted crops, bits, and bobs would have been carved out of his long ears — W.F.Harris

b. : a small usually insignificant piece : trifle

the bobs and trinkets of criticism — Laurence Sterne

V. intransitive verb

( bobbed ; bobbed ; bobbing ; bobs )

Etymology: bob (IV) (grub)

: to angle with a bob especially through the ice

VI. transitive verb

( bobbed ; bobbed ; bobbing ; bobs )

Etymology: bob (IV) (knob of hair, bobtail)

1. : to cut shorter : dock , crop — sometimes used with off

a show horse with a beribboned mane and bobbed tail

bob off a dog's tail

prune and bob shrubbery

2. : to cut (hair) in the style of a bob

VII. noun

( plural bob )

Etymology: perhaps from Bob, nickname for the name Robert

slang Britain : shilling

VIII. noun

( -s )

Etymology: back-formation from bobsled

1. : a single pair of sled runners on which the forward ends of logs may be loaded in logging

2.

[by shortening]

: bobsled

IX. verb

( bobbed ; bobbed ; bobbing ; bobs )

intransitive verb

1. : to ride on a bobsled as a recreation

2. : to transport logs on a bob

transitive verb

: to transport (as logs) on a bob

X. noun

( -s )

Etymology: by shortening

: bobwhite

Webster's New International English Dictionary.      Новый международный словарь английского языка Webster.