variants
or less commonly wabble
wobbled also wabbled; wobbling also wabbling
ˈwä-b(ə-)liŋ 
1
: to cause to wobble
variants
or less commonly wabble
1
a
: a hobbling or rocking unequal motion (as of a wheel unevenly mounted)
b
: an uncertainly directed movement
2
: an intermittent variation (as in volume of sound)
Synonyms
Examples of wobble in a Sentence
Verb
The vase wobbled but didn't fall over.
The boy was wobbling along on his bicycle.
The table wobbles a little.
They have been wobbling in their support of the president's policies.
Recent Examples on the Web
Jamie Carter, Forbes, 27 Mar. 2024
Fell to my knees, everything went blurry, then wobbled to the side of the stage and vomited for a bit.
—Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 22 Mar. 2024
Elon Musk’s Tesla (TSLA), the EV heavyweight, is wobbling.
—Anna Cooban, CNN, 8 Mar. 2024
One day Hayden had been there, intent on playing when he was supposed to be sleeping, keeping his twin Cameron awake, sometimes grabbing the baby monitor so that the footage wobbled across the wall and the curtains.
—Eric Boodman, STAT, 4 Jan. 2024
As his authority wobbled, Haiti’s already-powerful armed gangs stepped into the void.
—Lenny Rashid Ruvaga, The Christian Science Monitor, 25 Mar. 2024
As America’s economic and existential balance have wobbled over the past decade, San Diego theaters have frequently turned to the plays of Samuel D. Hunter for answers.
—Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 22 Mar. 2024
The photographer, Daniel Benson, stood precariously on a stepladder, wobbling on the rocks amidst ocean spray.
—Martha Ward, Condé Nast Traveler, 14 Mar. 2024
The wobbling tilt and any natural variations to the shape of Earth’s orbit can change the amount and distribution of sunlight reaching Earth.
—Gongjie Li, Discover Magazine, 11 Jan. 2024
Mark Sparrow, Forbes, 29 Mar. 2024
The 1,000-pound (450-kilogram) rover will go into hibernation when the wobble of the Moon’s rotation causes the south pole to shift out of view of Earth for two weeks, cutting the direct communications link.
—Stephen Clark, Ars Technica, 18 July 2023
The frequency of this wobble is proportional to both the strength of the magnetic field and the size of the magnetic dipole moment of the needle.
—Luke Caldwell, Scientific American, 16 Jan. 2024
As the Arctic warms faster, the jet stream – which moves weather systems across the Earth – wobbles and weakens.
—Seth Borenstein, The Christian Science Monitor, 11 Mar. 2024
There is a bulge near the equator, and so the planet’s axis has a slight wobble.
—Emilie Le Beau Lucchesi, Discover Magazine, 18 Jan. 2024
The Dow’s 500-point wobble on CPI data suggesting higher-for-longer inflation (and interest rates) has some observers wondering if the beginning of the bubble popping is nearing in 2024.
—Will Daniel, Fortune, 14 Feb. 2024
Another key to tame wobble is to simply relax a little.
—Matthew Every, Field & Stream, 14 Feb. 2024
The Bay Area has been able — for now — to withstand the wobbles in the region’s tech industry.
—George Avalos, The Mercury News, 19 Jan. 2024
Verb
Precession is a natural process lasting 25,800 years that sees Earth wobble on its axis—rather like a spinning top—because of the moon’s gravitational influence.
—Jamie Carter, Forbes, 27 Mar. 2024
Fell to my knees, everything went blurry, then wobbled to the side of the stage and vomited for a bit.
—Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 22 Mar. 2024
Elon Musk’s Tesla (TSLA), the EV heavyweight, is wobbling.
—Anna Cooban, CNN, 8 Mar. 2024
One day Hayden had been there, intent on playing when he was supposed to be sleeping, keeping his twin Cameron awake, sometimes grabbing the baby monitor so that the footage wobbled across the wall and the curtains.
—Eric Boodman, STAT, 4 Jan. 2024
As his authority wobbled, Haiti’s already-powerful armed gangs stepped into the void.
—Lenny Rashid Ruvaga, The Christian Science Monitor, 25 Mar. 2024
As America’s economic and existential balance have wobbled over the past decade, San Diego theaters have frequently turned to the plays of Samuel D. Hunter for answers.
—Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 22 Mar. 2024
The photographer, Daniel Benson, stood precariously on a stepladder, wobbling on the rocks amidst ocean spray.
—Martha Ward, Condé Nast Traveler, 14 Mar. 2024
The wobbling tilt and any natural variations to the shape of Earth’s orbit can change the amount and distribution of sunlight reaching Earth.
—Gongjie Li, Discover Magazine, 11 Jan. 2024
Noun
The circuit board beneath the keys is secured with screw-in stabilizers that produce a smooth typing experience with less wobble on the larger keys like the space bar, shift, enter and delete keys.
—Mark Sparrow, Forbes, 29 Mar. 2024
The 1,000-pound (450-kilogram) rover will go into hibernation when the wobble of the Moon’s rotation causes the south pole to shift out of view of Earth for two weeks, cutting the direct communications link.
—Stephen Clark, Ars Technica, 18 July 2023
The frequency of this wobble is proportional to both the strength of the magnetic field and the size of the magnetic dipole moment of the needle.
—Luke Caldwell, Scientific American, 16 Jan. 2024
As the Arctic warms faster, the jet stream – which moves weather systems across the Earth – wobbles and weakens.
—Seth Borenstein, The Christian Science Monitor, 11 Mar. 2024
There is a bulge near the equator, and so the planet’s axis has a slight wobble.
—Emilie Le Beau Lucchesi, Discover Magazine, 18 Jan. 2024
The Dow’s 500-point wobble on CPI data suggesting higher-for-longer inflation (and interest rates) has some observers wondering if the beginning of the bubble popping is nearing in 2024.
—Will Daniel, Fortune, 14 Feb. 2024
Another key to tame wobble is to simply relax a little.
—Matthew Every, Field & Stream, 14 Feb. 2024
The Bay Area has been able — for now — to withstand the wobbles in the region’s tech industry.
—George Avalos, The Mercury News, 19 Jan. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'wobble.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
First Known Use
Verb
1657, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1a
Noun
1699, in the meaning defined at sense 1a
Dictionary Entries Near wobble
Cite this Entry
“Wobble.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wobble. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024.
Copy Citation
Kids Definition
wobble
1 of 2 verb
wob·ble
ˈwäb-əl
wobbled; wobbling
-(ə-)liŋ
1
a
: to move or cause to move with a jerky rocking or side-to-side motion
the baby's head wobbled from side to side
b
: tremble entry 1 sense 1
a voice that wobbles
2
: waver sense 1
his opinion wobbled
wobble
2 of 2 noun
: a wobbling action or movement
the wheel had a bad wobble
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