as in shaving
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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2
as in slapping
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 bobbing
Julia Coin, Charlotte Observer, 21 Oct. 2025
The kitchen was empty, save for an enormous stockpot of broth, with chicken feet bobbing at the surface.
—Hannah Goldfield, New Yorker, 20 Oct. 2025
The Sea of Excrement, with its bobbing malefactors, is especially memorable.
—New York Times, 16 Oct. 2025
Head bobbing and rolling is what causes neck soreness.
—Olivia Young, Travel + Leisure, 7 Oct. 2025
Performers milled on the street with bobbing paper mache heads of Uncle Sam and other caricatures.
—Neda Ulaby, NPR, 6 Oct. 2025
The degree to which Celine’s bob is bobbing can’t even be measured on a human scale.
—Emma Specter, Vogue, 1 Oct. 2025
In a video Trump posted to a social media, a small boat can be seen bobbing the water before being struck, resulting in a cloud of black smoke.
—Anne Flaherty, ABC News, 15 Sep. 2025
Across the field, Granite Hills’ talented junior quarterback, Zac Benitez, chilled out, bobbing his head to tunes playing on his headphones.
—Don Norcross, San Diego Union-Tribune, 12 Sep. 2025
Verb
That mute minute in an otherwise ever-bobbing, ever-shouting crowd (a portion of which camped outside the Spectrum Center) was a testament to Eilish’s ability to hold her own on a stage that — other than the occasional burst of fire and blitzing lights — had little frill.
—Julia Coin, Charlotte Observer, 21 Oct. 2025
The kitchen was empty, save for an enormous stockpot of broth, with chicken feet bobbing at the surface.
—Hannah Goldfield, New Yorker, 20 Oct. 2025
The Sea of Excrement, with its bobbing malefactors, is especially memorable.
—New York Times, 16 Oct. 2025
Head bobbing and rolling is what causes neck soreness.
—Olivia Young, Travel + Leisure, 7 Oct. 2025
Performers milled on the street with bobbing paper mache heads of Uncle Sam and other caricatures.
—Neda Ulaby, NPR, 6 Oct. 2025
The degree to which Celine’s bob is bobbing can’t even be measured on a human scale.
—Emma Specter, Vogue, 1 Oct. 2025
In a video Trump posted to a social media, a small boat can be seen bobbing the water before being struck, resulting in a cloud of black smoke.
—Anne Flaherty, ABC News, 15 Sep. 2025
Across the field, Granite Hills’ talented junior quarterback, Zac Benitez, chilled out, bobbing his head to tunes playing on his headphones.
—Don Norcross, San Diego Union-Tribune, 12 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Bobbing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bobbing. Accessed 30 Oct. 2025.
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