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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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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
Pien Huang, NPR, 6 Feb. 2026
Meeks and cinematographer Stefan Weinberger pay special attention to the region’s natural beauty, repeating a single shot of a car bobbing over a two-lane highway amid vibrant green hills.
—Katie Rife, IndieWire, 25 Jan. 2026
Still, the infant’s head can be seen bobbing up and down.
—Owen Clarke, Outside, 20 Jan. 2026
SpaceX support crews stationed near the landing site quickly reached the gently bobbing spacecraft and hauled it aboard a company recovery ship where flight surgeons were standing by to carry out initial medical checks.
—William Harwood, CBS News, 15 Jan. 2026
The faceless head of a man bobbing in the water recalls the countless Africans who perished during the perilous journey due to disease, malnourishment, and abuse, whose bodies were thrown overboard by unscrupulous ship captains and slavers to schools of sharks.
—James Meyer, Artforum, 1 Jan. 2026
The view inside the Phoenix Convention Center, seen from a mezzanine, was a sea of bobbing caps.
—Aidan McLaughlin, Vanity Fair, 22 Dec. 2025
Rather, this unique item is designed to shape to your neck and reduce head bobbing.
—Mariana Zapata, Travel + Leisure, 19 Dec. 2025
Kay squatted by a monitor, bobbing his head to the beat.
—Rebecca Mead, New Yorker, 8 Dec. 2025
Verb
And many of them were side-stepping and bobbing along to a set by DJ Mace, who was also busting moves nonstop, even when the cameras weren't on him.
—Pien Huang, NPR, 6 Feb. 2026
Meeks and cinematographer Stefan Weinberger pay special attention to the region’s natural beauty, repeating a single shot of a car bobbing over a two-lane highway amid vibrant green hills.
—Katie Rife, IndieWire, 25 Jan. 2026
Still, the infant’s head can be seen bobbing up and down.
—Owen Clarke, Outside, 20 Jan. 2026
SpaceX support crews stationed near the landing site quickly reached the gently bobbing spacecraft and hauled it aboard a company recovery ship where flight surgeons were standing by to carry out initial medical checks.
—William Harwood, CBS News, 15 Jan. 2026
The faceless head of a man bobbing in the water recalls the countless Africans who perished during the perilous journey due to disease, malnourishment, and abuse, whose bodies were thrown overboard by unscrupulous ship captains and slavers to schools of sharks.
—James Meyer, Artforum, 1 Jan. 2026
The view inside the Phoenix Convention Center, seen from a mezzanine, was a sea of bobbing caps.
—Aidan McLaughlin, Vanity Fair, 22 Dec. 2025
Rather, this unique item is designed to shape to your neck and reduce head bobbing.
—Mariana Zapata, Travel + Leisure, 19 Dec. 2025
Kay squatted by a monitor, bobbing his head to the beat.
—Rebecca Mead, New Yorker, 8 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Bobbing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bobbing. Accessed 16 Feb. 2026.
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