1,400 new words in our dictionary! — Parasocial, glow-up, promposal & more
1,400 new words in our dictionary! — More

bobble 1 of 2

noun

Definition of bobblenext
as in mistake
an unintentional departure from truth or accuracy she's terrified that she'll make some silly bobble during the important presentation

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

bobble

2 of 2

verb

ˈbä-bəl How to pronounce bobble (audio)
1
as in to fumble
to make or do (something) in a clumsy or unskillful way the first baseman bobbled the catch, so the runner was safe

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to bob
to make short up-and-down movements the little doll's head bobbled when you poked it

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of bobble
Noun
The Kings, who had a 5-3 advantage in shots in the first, got the first excellent chance of the game when dangerous goal scorer Adrian Kempe took advantage of a bobble at the LA blue line. — Steve Conroy, Boston Herald, 11 Mar. 2026 But the experience includes a few bobbles—call them growing pains. — Brent Rose, Outside, 28 Feb. 2026
Verb
Beckham lunged and tried to haul it in, but the ball bobbled incomplete. — Pat Leonard, New York Daily News, 29 Aug. 2026 On Oladokun’s second throw of the game, tight end Tre Watson bobbled a good pass into the hands of cornerback Roman Parodie. — Kansas City Star, 23 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for bobble
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bobble
  1. mistake
  2. fumble
  3. bob
  4. blunder
  5. blow
  6. pump
  7. error
  8. shake
Noun
  • Mistakes to Avoid To keep your bird seed fresh, our experts recommend avoiding the following mistakes.
    — Madeline Buiano, Martha Stewart, 27 Sep. 2026
  • According to Thomasson, two of the biggest mistakes that instantly date your living room involve windows.
    — Maria Sabella, Better Homes & Gardens, 27 Sep. 2026
Definition of mistake
Verb
  • The Wildcats opened the game with a goal-line stand, but Chiles fumbled the snap on their first offensive play and Rolijah Hardy tackled him in the end zone for a safety.
    — Michael Marot, Chicago Tribune, 26 Sep. 2026
  • But Rattler fumbled right before crossing the goal line, turning the ball over.
    — Joel Beers, Los Angeles Times, 26 Sep. 2026
Definition of fumble
Verb
  • The world was not watching, but the ostriches were, their heads bobbing above the pen like periscopes.
    — J. B. MacKinnon, Harpers Magazine, 22 Sep. 2026
  • Secure bags together with an industry secret Airline staff have an ability to bob and weave through terminals without fumbling their bags.
    — Abbey Hudetz, Travel + Leisure, 18 Sep. 2026
Definition of bob
Noun
  • So, when looking at the bigger picture, this isn’t really an example of an AI failure leading to a military blunder, but rather a failure of verification before circulation.
    — Christopher McFadden, Interesting Engineering, 20 Sep. 2026
  • After last week's high-profile blunder saw Erling Haaland wrongly awarded the winning goal against Manchester United, VAR Matt Donohue and assistant Blake Antrobus have been stood down for this round of fixtures.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 17 Sep. 2026
Definition of blunder
Verb
  • The one in the middle is blowing a bubble, with her legs stretched out and propped up on the chair of the girl in front of her.
    — Margaret Talbot, New Yorker, 26 Sep. 2026
  • But San Diego then blew the game open in the seventh, chasing Glasnow and scoring three times off reliever Justin Wrobleski on run-scoring singles by Austin Hays, Salas and Tatis.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 25 Sep. 2026
Definition of blow
Verb
  • Interim peace accords in the 1990s recognized their water rights but preserved a system that allocated some 80% of water pumped from the main aquifer for Israeli use.
    — Melanie Lidman, Los Angeles Times, 26 Sep. 2026
  • The responsible gaming prompts telling me to pump the brakes were no match for the product design and promotions pushing me to do more gambling.
    — Jake Pearson, ProPublica, 26 Sep. 2026
Definition of pump
Noun
  • Kyle Teel reached on a fielder’s choice, advanced to second on a wild pitch and moved to third on a throwing error by catcher Hunter Goodman.
    — LaMond Pope, Chicago Tribune, 26 Sep. 2026
  • The lead lasted into the bottom of the sixth until an error from Jose Altuve sparked the offensive explosion from the A’s.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 26 Sep. 2026
Definition of error
Verb
  • The policeman held on to Shorty’s biceps and shook them slightly, both giving the sense of a loving embrace and using his strength to lift Shorty ever so slightly off the ground and clear of the entrance.
    — Anand Giridharadas, New Yorker, 26 Sep. 2026
  • The trailer ends with Taylor-Johnson shaking and looking toward the sky as his transformation into a wolf appears to approach.
    — Lexi Carson, HollywoodReporter, 26 Sep. 2026
Definition of shake

Browse Nearby Words

bobbing (up)
bobble
bobbled
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Bobble.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bobble. Accessed 29 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of argot

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

7 Great Ways to Say 'Great'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Why do we 'bury the lede?'
See More

Popular

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

7 Great Ways to Say 'Great'

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
image of the words cracker fly and sale arranged in a triangle with the word fire in the middle
Triple Play Quiz Find the word that pairs with each of the three g...
See All