as in shaved
to make (something) shorter or smaller with the use of a cutting instrument
bobbed her waist-length hair herself on her 18th birthday
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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2
as in smacked
to deliver a blow to (someone or something) usually in a strong vigorous manner
he playfully bobbed his brother on the nose to get his attention
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Recent Examples of bobbed
Rebecca Castillo, Los Angeles Times, 16 Apr. 2026
Koch bobbed by again, this time with glasses and a Harry Potter lightning bolt doodled on her face.
—Michael Tedder, The Atlantic, 12 Apr. 2026
Red and black balloons bobbed in the evening breeze as roughly 100 people assembled, including family members and students and teachers from South Hills High School, where Washington studied and played basketball.
—Lillie Davidson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 10 Apr. 2026
Cameras bobbed and staffers thronged.
—Molly Fischer, New Yorker, 10 Apr. 2026
The airline placed everyone seeking information in a conference room that overlooked the Potomac River, where the wreckage of Flight 5342 bobbed in the water.
—Brit McCandless Farmer, CBS News, 29 Mar. 2026
Silver patches poke through deep chestnut hair that, not long ago, bobbed in a ponytail on her long runs.
—Gerald Witt, AJC.com, 1 Mar. 2026
In the gray dawn, rows of bicycles bobbed at their moorings, as though lifted by ghostly hands.
—Literary Hub, 26 Feb. 2026
Several giant foam fingers bobbed above the crowd.
—Martin Silva Rey, Fortune, 10 Feb. 2026
Verb
Pink poodles with long black eyelashes danced in a can-can line, a quartet of googly-eyed cacti bobbed along to the music and a trio of small white dogs galloped on the stage.
—Rebecca Castillo, Los Angeles Times, 16 Apr. 2026
Koch bobbed by again, this time with glasses and a Harry Potter lightning bolt doodled on her face.
—Michael Tedder, The Atlantic, 12 Apr. 2026
Red and black balloons bobbed in the evening breeze as roughly 100 people assembled, including family members and students and teachers from South Hills High School, where Washington studied and played basketball.
—Lillie Davidson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 10 Apr. 2026
Cameras bobbed and staffers thronged.
—Molly Fischer, New Yorker, 10 Apr. 2026
The airline placed everyone seeking information in a conference room that overlooked the Potomac River, where the wreckage of Flight 5342 bobbed in the water.
—Brit McCandless Farmer, CBS News, 29 Mar. 2026
Silver patches poke through deep chestnut hair that, not long ago, bobbed in a ponytail on her long runs.
—Gerald Witt, AJC.com, 1 Mar. 2026
In the gray dawn, rows of bicycles bobbed at their moorings, as though lifted by ghostly hands.
—Literary Hub, 26 Feb. 2026
Several giant foam fingers bobbed above the crowd.
—Martin Silva Rey, Fortune, 10 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Bobbed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bobbed. Accessed 17 Apr. 2026.
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