bob

views updated Jun 11 2018

bob1 / bäb/ • v. (bobbed, bob·bing) [intr.] (of a thing) make a quick short movement up and down: I could see his red head bobbing around the boat bobbed up and down. ∎  [tr.] cause (something) to make such a movement: she bobbed her head. ∎  [intr.] make a sudden move in a particular direction so as to appear or disappear: a lady bobbed up from beneath the counter. ∎  [intr.] move up and down briefly in a curtsy.• n. a movement up and down: she could only manage a slight bob of her head. ∎  a curtsy.PHRASES: bob and weave make rapid bodily movements up and down and from side to side, for example as an evasive tactic by a boxer.bob2 • n. 1. a style in which the hair is cut short and evenly all around so that it hangs above the shoulders. 2. a weight on a pendulum, plumb line, or kite-tail. • v. (bobbed , bob·bing ) 1. [tr.] [usu. as adj.] (bobbed) cut (someone's hair) in a bob: she tied a headscarf over her bobbed brown hair. 2. [intr.] ride on a bobsled.bob3 Brit., inf. • n. (pl. same) a shilling. ∎  used with reference to a moderately large but unspecified amount of money: those vases are worth a few bob.bob4 • n. a change of order in bell-ringing. ∎  used in names of change-ringing methods: plain bob bob minor.

Bob

views updated May 18 2018

Bob

a knot or bunch of hair, hence, a bunch or cluster of leaves, flowers, fruit, etc. See also bouquet, bunch, nosegay.

Examples: bob of cherries, 1460; of flowers, 1570; of fruit; of grapes, 1400; of hair, 1680; of hawthorn, 1807; of leaves, 1570; of primroses, 1807; of crimson ribbons, 1837; of worms, 1882.

bob

views updated May 17 2018

bob2
A. †pummel, buffet, rap XIV;

B. move with a jerk up or down or to and fro XIV; curtsy XVIII. prob. of limit. orig.
Hence bob sb. †blow, rap XVI; method of change-ringing XVII; curtsy XIX.

bob

views updated Jun 27 2018

bob1 a change of order in bell-ringing; used in names of change-ringing methods, as plain bob. The term is recorded from the late 17th century, and may be connected with bob meaning ‘sudden movement up and down’.

bob

views updated May 18 2018

bob2 in British usage, a shilling; more generally, used with reference to a large but unspecified amount of money. The term is recorded from the late 18th century but the origin is unknown.

bob

views updated May 18 2018

bob1 bunch. knob, knot (of hair). XIV. of unkn. orig.
Hence bob vb. fish with a bob or bunch of worms XVII; make into a bob, cut short, dock XIX.