bobble

play

verb bob·ble \ ˈbä-bəl \

Definition of bobble

bobbled; bobbling play \-b(ə-)liŋ\

1 :¹bob

2 :fumble

See bobble defined for English-language learners

See bobble defined for kids

Examples of bobble in a Sentence

The catcher bobbled the ball.
the first baseman bobbled the catch, so the runner was safe

Recent Examples of bobble from the Web

Segura bobbled the relay and then bounced a throw home in an attempt to cut down Headley, who slid in safely.

— seth berkman, New York Times, "Seattle’s Five-Error Inning Leads to a Yankees Rout," 27 Aug. 2017
Trubisky bobbled a snap from under center, which threw off the timing of a running play, allowing cornerback B.W. Webb to blow it up in the backfield.

— rich campbell, chicagotribune.com, "5 observations from Bears practice Wednesday," 2 Aug. 2017
With two outs, Blue Jays third baseman Josh Donaldson bobbled an inning-ending groundout and righty reliever Lucas Harrell walked Justin Upton to bring Cabrera to the plate with the bases loaded.

— anthony fenech, Detroit Free Press, "Detroit Tigers show pulse, rally for walk-off win in extras over Jays," 16 July 2017
But Kipnis bobbled the ball and threw to second for just one out as Sanchez scored.

— paul hoynes, cleveland.com, "Cleveland Indians blanked by San Diego Padres, 1-0; Corey Kluber sets club strikeout record," 4 July 2017
Perez very nearly was out of a busy inning without any damage, but Odor bobbled a Tzu-Wei Lin grounder that would have ended the inning.

— jeff wilson, star-telegram, "Rangers rally late, but Red Sox prevail in 11," 3 July 2017
But then Manny Pina singled to short, with shortstop Jose Peraza seeming to bobble the catch while ranging into hole between short and third.

— zach buchanan, Cincinnati.com, "Cincinnati Reds recap: Offense slugs four homers to beat Milwaukee Brewers," 27 June 2017
The inning would flatline in the next moments when Cuthbert bobbled a grounder at third base and threw wildly to first, allowing another run to score and everybody to be safe.

— rustin dodd, kansascity.com, "Shaky relief corps, tight strike zone doom Royals in 8-2 loss to Blue Jays," 25 June 2017
An error by backup first baseman Adam Lind, who bobbled a low throw, and a hit batter loaded the bases with two outs.

— USA TODAY, "Max Scherzer takes no-hitter into eighth inning, loses it in maddening fashion," 21 June 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'bobble.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of bobble

frequentative of ¹bob

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1812

See Words from the same year

bobble Synonyms

bobble

noun

Definition of bobble

1 :a repeated bobbing movement

2 :a small ball of fabric; especially :one in a series used on an edging

3 :error, mistake; especially :a mishandling of the ball in baseball or football

See bobble defined for English-language learners

Examples of bobble in a Sentence

a bobble that cost them the game
The curtains have a series of bobbles along the edge.

Recent Examples of bobble from the Web

A boot from shortstop Miguel Rojas, a bobble then a low throw from third baseman Derek Dietrich, a dropped line drive and late throw home from second baseman Dee Gordon — and that was just the first inning.

— tim healey, Sun-Sentinel.com, "Marlins lose to Braves despite Giancarlo Stanton's two home runs," 5 Aug. 2017
In the other Mid-Am feature, Kenny Benson turned a bobble by Knippenberg with seven laps remaining into a pass for the lead.

— tony baranek, Daily Southtown, "Jim Weber joins the club with first career Grundy County Speedway victory," 29 July 2017
Most things we monogram are small bobbles that could easily get mixed up with someone else's.

— leslie anne tarabella, AL.com, "Put a monogram on it," 10 July 2017
Hoyer had two passes intercepted Thursday, both off bobbles by Pierre Garçon and Carlos Hyde, and both on about 10-yard attempts over the middle that were relatively low risk.

— cam inman, The Mercury News, "Can 49ers Brian Hoyer throw the deep ball?," 9 June 2017
With two outs in the 13th, Lexi Madrigal collected her third hit, advancing to second on a bobble.

— michael osipoff, Post-Tribune, "DOWNED BY FRAZIER," 3 June 2017
On paper, sophomore pitcher Taran Alvelo had a decent game — striking out one while giving up two earned runs before being replaced in the seventh inning — but a pair of fielding errors and several bobbles doomed the Huskies.

— derek peterson, The Seattle Times, "Washington loses to Oklahoma at Women’s College World Series," 2 June 2017
Austin Moore started the eighth inning for OCC, but exited after a four-pitch walk and two errors, the latter his own bobble of a sacrifice-bunt attempt that left runners at the corners.

— barry faulkner, Daily Pilot, "Navarro, Robeniol help OCC close in on crown," 25 Apr. 2017
Cotchery appeared to grab the ball at about the 35 after a bobble, and Broncos safety Darian Stewart quickly draped himself around Cotchery’s waist.

— john branch, New York Times, "What’s a Catch? In the N.F.L., the Rule Seems Impossible to Grasp FEB. 1, 2016," 8 Feb. 2016

First Known Use of bobble

1836

bobble Synonyms

Synonyms

blunder, error, boob [British], boo-boo, brick, clanger [British], clinker, fault, flub, fluff, fumble, gaff, gaffe, goof, inaccuracy, lapse, miscue, misstep, mistake, oversight, screwup, slip, slipup, stumble, trip

Near Antonyms

accuracy, correctness, exactitude, exactness, preciseness, precision, strictness; inerrancy, infallibility, perfection

BOBBLE Defined for English Language Learners

bobble

play

verb

Definition of bobble for English Language Learners

: to move up and down quickly or repeatedly
: to handle (something, such as a ball) in a clumsy or awkward way : to fail to catch (something)

bobble

noun

Definition of bobble for English Language Learners

: a mistake that occurs when a player fails to catch or handle the ball properly in baseball, football, etc.
: a small ball of fabric that is used for decoration