cob

noun

ˈkäb 

1

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

2

a

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 noun

a 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

Leftover corn can be reheated on the cob or frozen for later use. — Lisa Cericola, Southern Living, 30 Aug. 2026

Both delicious and healthy, farrotto is made from stock cooked with corn cobs, which makes for an intense corn experience. — Jack Dolan, Los Angeles Times, 28 Aug. 2026

To eat it, remove the husk and silk, rinse the cob well under cool running water, and then taste a kernel. — Olivia McIntosh, Martha Stewart, 26 Aug. 2026

Cob Cottage Sustainability and style go hand in hand at this cozy rental, a cob house on Canada’s Mayne Island. — Kelsey Mulvey, Vogue, 14 Aug. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English cobbe leader of a group, head; probably akin to cub (young animal), Middle English kebbe old cow or sheep, Dutch dialect kabbe, kebbe piglet

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing cob

• corn on the cob
• Welsh cob

Rhymes for cob

• blob
• bob
• daub
• fob
• glob
• gob
• hob
• job
• knob
• lob
• mob
• rob

Kids Definition

cob

noun

ˈkäb 

1

: a male swan

2

: corncob

3

: a short-legged stocky horse