cob

\ ˈkäb

How to pronounce cob (audio)

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Definition of cob

1 [perhaps short for cobswan lead swan] : a male swan

2a dialectal, England : a rounded mass, lump, or heap

b : a mixture of unburned clay and straw used especially for constructing walls of small houses in England

3 : a crudely struck old Spanish coin of irregular shape —often used before another nouna cob dollar

4 : corncob sense 1

5 : a stocky short-legged riding horse

Examples of cob in a Sentence

She used a knife to cut the corn from the cob. We had corn on the cob.

Recent Examples on the Web Before cooking corn on the cob, grab a dampened paper towel and brush downward on the ear of corn. — Washington Post, "Hints From Heloise: Moving the masses," 14 Oct. 2019 The list includes turkey skin, turkey bones, gravy, sage, raisins/grapes, onions and garlic, nuts and nutmeg, mushrooms, fat trimmings, corn on the cob, chocolate, butter, candied yams, bread dough and, of course, alcohol. — Carol Kovach, cleveland, "Christmas at the Farm, parade, Frosty’s Fest kick off Christmas season in Parma: Sun Postings," 25 Nov. 2019 The rain and the sun no longer balance, complains one farmer, Zaituni Mudondo, banging a maize cob on the ground. — The Economist, "Better seeds could help African farmers grow far more," 28 Sep. 2019 Cut corn off the cob quickly and neatly by holding it steady with a bundt pan. — Jane Maynard, Cosmopolitan, "17 Life-Changing Cooking Hacks," 23 Apr. 2014 Vendors selling corn on the cob with kernels big enough to break off and eat one at a time. — Nell Zink, Harper's magazine, "The Bird Angle," 28 Oct. 2019 Sides like chowder, corn on the cob and sweet potatoes will be served up alongside the hearty entrees. — Joey Morona, cleveland, "International Cat Show at the I-X Center and 12 more things to do in Cleveland this weekend, Oct. 12-13," 12 Oct. 2019 The Pikesville resident pulls up the Instacart app on her phone instead, and orders chicken, frozen food, corn on the cob and other necessities from Wegmans and picks a delivery time. — Lorraine Mirabella, baltimoresun.com, "Go to the supermarket? Increasing numbers of Baltimore-area shoppers buy their groceries online instead.," 15 Aug. 2019 Cut corn from cob and toss in bowl with juice of 2 lime halves, then chopped cilantro, chopped green olives, grated Manchego cheese, and pinch each salt and pepper. — The Good Housekeeping Test Kitchen, Good Housekeeping, "Grilled Chicken with Smoky Corn Salad," 27 July 2018

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

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Last Updated

18 Jan 2020

Cite this Entry

“Cob.” The Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster Inc., https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cob. Accessed 21 January 2020.

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