gob

1 of 3

noun (1)

1
: lump
2
: a large amount
usually used in plural
gobs of money
chiefly British
: mouth
: sailor

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
Smith has never lost his aura of bemused angst, with his dripping gobs of eyeliner, his smeared red lipstick, his sticky black-bat swamp of hair. Rob Sheffield, Rolling Stone, 17 May 2023 The Bay Area’s Craigslist currently has gobs of the chairs for sale, photographed in warehouses, lined up in corners of conference rooms and wrapped in plastic outside a storage unit. Erin Griffith, New York Times, 25 Feb. 2023 Manufacturers have to add gobs of other chemicals to give plastic its plastic properties—things that make the polymer more heat resistant, for example, or more flexible. WIRED, 18 Feb. 2023 The soundness of the strategy is obvious during fall or spring salmon seasons, but believe me, a gob of fish eggs is effective any time of year. Morgan Lyle, Field & Stream, 25 Apr. 2023 Particularly impressive is the massive Arrakis predator known as the sandworm, a fearsome creature that first makes its presence known as a giant ripple of action beneath the sand, before poking its lamprey-like head aboveground to sweep its prey—machinery, people, whatever—into its toothy gob. Stephanie Zacharek, Time, 3 Sep. 2021 And corporate shake-ups at HBO Max have resulted in gobs of stuff being removed from that platform entirely. Wired Staff, WIRED, 23 Feb. 2023 Neeson, under gobs of stomach-churning makeup for a great deal of the run time, delivers a pitch-perfect performance that beautifully blends high camp and wrenching pathos. Declan Gallagher, EW.com, 17 Feb. 2023 That led to the opening of several gob-burning plants, including Grant Town. New York Times, 27 Mar. 2022 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'gob.' 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

Noun (1)

Middle English gobbe, probably back-formation from gobet

Noun (2)

probably from Scottish Gaelic, mouth & Irish, beak, pursed mouth

Noun (3)

origin unknown

First Known Use

Noun (1)

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun (2)

1568, in the meaning defined above

Noun (3)

1910, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of gob was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near gob

Cite this Entry

“Gob.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gob. Accessed 27 May. 2023.

Kids Definition

gob

1 of 2 noun
1
2
: a large amount
usually used in plural
gobs of money

gob

2 of 2 noun
: sailor

More from Merriam-Webster on gob

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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