I. ˈsäb verb
( sobbed ; sobbed ; sobbing ; sobs )
Etymology: Middle English sobben
intransitive verb
1.
a. : to catch the breath audibly in a spasmodic contraction of the throat resulting from an intense emotional excitement
b. : to cry or weep with such convulsive catching of breath
began to sob a little, like a hurt child — F. Tennyson Jesse
2. : to make a sound like that of a sob or sobbing
the loud, rapid, painful, regular intake of sobbing breath — Arnold Bennett
the doves sob quietly in their cote — Edmund Blunden
gives … the theme to the basses while the horns play a sobbing figure — Martin Cooper
transitive verb
1. : to bring (as oneself) to a specified state or condition by sobbing
sobbed himself to sleep
2. : to utter or pour forth with sobs
had cried enough already, sobbing her loneliness into her pillow — Stuart Cloete
II. noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English sobbe, from sobben to sob
1.
a. : an act of sobbing
sobs shook their bodies — George Meredith
stood for a moment … a joyous sob catching his throat — Wallace Markfield
b. archaic : an utterance or sound (as of effort or pain) similar to a sob
2. obsolete
a. : the act of a horse in getting its wind
b. : an interval for a horse to rest
c. : rest , relief
3. : a sound like that of a sob
sobs of the wind in the trees
III. |eˌsōˈbē abbreviation or noun
( -s )
Usage: often capitalized S&O&B
: son of a bitch : bastard 7a
what the administration needs most … is a ruthless sob to run its politics — Time