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

With a sharp knife, barely slice the tops of the kernels off into a bowl, then scrape the kernels' roots from the cob into the same bowl. —Kelly Brant, Arkansas Online, 1 July 2025

Pedersen broke down her options while sitting on a pinkish firepit and curved bench made from cob. —Lila Seidman, Los Angeles Times, 28 June 2025

While bacon cooks, remove kernels from corn cobs and place in a large bowl. —Marianne Williams, Southern Living, 28 June 2025

Known as cobs or macuquinas, the money was minted in Lima, Peru, in 1707 and bears markings linking it to the Spanish Empire’s Tierra Firme fleet, which transported treasure from colonial South America to Europe between the mid-16th and late 18th centuries. —Aurora Martínez, Smithsonian Magazine, 23 June 2025

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