gobble

1 of 2

verb (1)

gob·​ble ˈgä-bəl How to pronounce gobble (audio)
gobbled; gobbling ˈgä-b(ə-)liŋ How to pronounce gobble (audio)

transitive verb

1
: to swallow or eat greedily
2
: to take eagerly : grab
usually used with up
3
: to read rapidly or greedily
usually used with up

gobble

2 of 2

verb (2)

gobbled; gobbling ˈgä-b(ə-)liŋ How to pronounce gobble (audio)

intransitive verb

1
: to make the natural guttural noise of a male turkey
2
: to make a sound resembling the gobble of a turkey
gobble noun

Examples of gobble in a Sentence

Verb (1) gobbled the sandwiches like they hadn't eaten for days
Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
Over the next two decades, America's radio stations would be gobbled up by a handful of conglomerates such as Clear Channel, now known as iHeartMedia. CBS News, 1 Oct. 2024 Tech giants Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Google’s YouTube TV have gobbled up a huge part of the television distribution business, and both Dish and DirecTV have been bleeding customers. Meg James, Los Angeles Times, 30 Sep. 2024 Weaver ants—forest-dwelling ants that live in the lowlands and ferociously prey on small invertebrates—might be gobbling up the birds’ food source and pushing them to higher elevations. Byalice Sun, science.org, 25 Sep. 2024 Gross and his team discovered that the new buds blossom around the time when the fish transition from eating larval crustaceans to gobbling up their adulthood staple: bat guano. Elizabeth Anne Brown, Scientific American, 23 Sep. 2024 See all Example Sentences for gobble 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'gobble.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Verb (1)

probably irregular from gob entry 1

Verb (2)

imitative

First Known Use

Verb (1)

1583, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb (2)

1680, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of gobble was in 1583

Dictionary Entries Near gobble

Cite this Entry

“Gobble.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gobble. Accessed 14 Oct. 2024.

Kids Definition

gobble

1 of 2 verb
gob·​ble ˈgäb-əl How to pronounce gobble (audio)
gobbled; gobbling -(ə-)liŋ How to pronounce gobble (audio)
1
: to swallow or eat greedily
2
: to take eagerly : grab
the small country was gobbled up by its neighbor

gobble

2 of 2 verb
: to make the sound of a male turkey
gobble noun

More from Merriam-Webster on gobble

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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