sob

1 of 3

verb

sobbed; sobbing

intransitive verb

1
a
: to catch the breath audibly in a spasmodic contraction of the throat
b
: to cry or weep with convulsive catching of the breath
2
: to make a sound like that of a sob or sobbing

transitive verb

1
: to bring to a specified state by sobbing
sobbed himself to sleep
2
: to utter with sobs
sobbed out her grief

sob

2 of 3

noun (1)

1
: an act of sobbing
2
: a sound like that of a sob
plural SOBs or SOB's
slang, sometimes offensive
: son of a bitch
He's one arrogant/tough/greedy SOB.
… a guy who brought two dozen roses to a first coffee date and told you he felt like the luckiest SOB on the planet in the first five minutes.Today

Examples of sob in a Sentence

Verb He began to sob uncontrollably. She could not stop sobbing. “I hate you,” she sobbed. Noun (2) I hate that miserable SOB.
Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
Ahmed smashed his phone to pieces, sobbing, and locked himself in his room. Anand Gopal, The New Yorker, 11 Mar. 2024 Travis, of course, was sobbing behind sunglasses in the front row. Scott Cacciola, New York Times, 6 Mar. 2024 Meanwhile, the 11-year-old, who was sobbing and in his underwear, was detained in the back of a police car, the complaint says. Julia Marnin, Miami Herald, 22 Feb. 2024 What appears to be a woman’s voice is also heard sobbing, according to the video. Antonio Planas, NBC News, 1 Feb. 2024 The woman sobbed quietly about Gino’s betrayal, offering one of the first moments Jasmine was silent in the face of pain. Kelly Wynne, Peoplemag, 4 Mar. 2024 The girl came sobbing up from the bottlebrush, wiping her nose with the back of her wrist. Fiona McFarlane, The New Yorker, 4 Mar. 2024 Lisa Darden: She was spread out on the floor … just sobbing. Natalie Morales, CBS News, 24 Feb. 2024 Immediately after speaking, Broadbent started wiping away tears, then broke down sobbing. Chuck Schilken, Los Angeles Times, 23 Feb. 2024
Noun
Most people on flights are absorbed into their own movies, books or podcasts and unlikely to notice if someone sheds a tear or suppresses a sob while huddled up in their own seat. Olivia Morelli, Condé Nast Traveler, 8 Mar. 2024 At several junctures during his emotional retirement speech on Monday, Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce paused to collect his thoughts and fight back sobs. Blair Kerkhoff, Kansas City Star, 4 Mar. 2024 In all, 36 paintings show the sobs and despair of the show’s women — 30 line the two longer gallery walls; six more hang from a red-velvet curtain on the shorter back wall. Virginia Brown, Charlotte Observer, 31 Jan. 2024 Prayers and sobs can be heard as a crowd gathers around the body, and one man furiously tries to revive the dead man. Yasmine Salam, NBC News, 24 Jan. 2024 The decision drew sobs of relief from the woman and a rebuke from the victim's father. Stephen Smith, CBS News, 24 Jan. 2024 Thinking about my mother, at home without me, sent me into paroxysms of tears – big, rolling sobs that welled up from someplace deep and uncharted. Various Staff Writers, Special Correspondents, and Special Contributors, The Christian Science Monitor, 22 Dec. 2023 But later, in a videotaped hospital reunion with her parents in which she was blocked from view, the young woman’s audible sobs turned to wild, wordless keening. Laura King, Los Angeles Times, 29 Nov. 2023 From the diaphragm, an unsanctioned sob began its upward pilgrimage. Teju Cole, The New Yorker, 27 Nov. 2023

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

Middle English sobben; akin to Middle Low German sabben to drool

Noun (2)

son of a bitch

First Known Use

Verb

13th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1a

Noun (1)

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun (2)

1918, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of sob was in the 13th century

Dictionary Entries Near sob

Cite this Entry

“Sob.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sob. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

sob

1 of 2 verb
sobbed; sobbing
1
: to weep especially with short gasping sounds
2
: to bring to a specified state by sobbing
sobbed myself to sleep
3
a
: to make a sound like that of sobbing
the wind sobbed through the trees
b
: to utter with sobs
sobbed out their story

sob

2 of 2 noun
1
: an act of sobbing
2
: a sound of or like that of sobbing

Medical Definition

SOB

abbreviation
short of breath

More from Merriam-Webster on sob

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