as in to wish
to offer (something fake, useless, or inferior) as genuine, useful, or valuable
people who try to fob off to charities broken-down furniture that is fit only for the junkyard
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Recent Examples of fob off
Your potential clients are terrified of being sold the dream then fobbed off to a junior team member.
—
Jodie Cook, Forbes.com, 21 Aug. 2025
While attempting to film his daughter's dance, Miguel Angel Michel, 66, couldn't control his feet and eventually fobbed off his phone altogether, earning 4.2 million views on TikTok.
—Lucy Notarantonio, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 July 2025
Not only does Israel not have spare luxury jets lying around to fob off on the American president, but the country took nine years to retrofit and launch its own version of Air Force One, and the process was a national fiasco.
—Yair Rosenberg, The Atlantic, 22 May 2025
But despite previous transparency around the cost-cutting measures, employees inquiring about how the budget cuts have impacted their performance review will now be fobbed off.
—Orianna Rosa Royle, Fortune, 29 Aug. 2023
Most chose instead to fob off the hard decisions to central bankers.
—William Pesek, Forbes, 10 Sep. 2021
Jodie Cook, Forbes.com, 21 Aug. 2025
While attempting to film his daughter's dance, Miguel Angel Michel, 66, couldn't control his feet and eventually fobbed off his phone altogether, earning 4.2 million views on TikTok.
—Lucy Notarantonio, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 July 2025
Not only does Israel not have spare luxury jets lying around to fob off on the American president, but the country took nine years to retrofit and launch its own version of Air Force One, and the process was a national fiasco.
—Yair Rosenberg, The Atlantic, 22 May 2025
But despite previous transparency around the cost-cutting measures, employees inquiring about how the budget cuts have impacted their performance review will now be fobbed off.
—Orianna Rosa Royle, Fortune, 29 Aug. 2023
Most chose instead to fob off the hard decisions to central bankers.
—William Pesek, Forbes, 10 Sep. 2021
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fob off
Verb
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But if the court of appeals wishes to hear oral arguments, the ruling will be issued later in the year.—
Rob Nikolewski,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
17 Feb. 2026
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This trend ignores the IOC’s initial reaction to Putin’s invasion, which, it should be acknowledged, was actually scheduled around the Beijing Winter Olympics, as Putin did not wish to offend the Chinese.—
Sean Strockyj,
New York Daily News,
17 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Gimbel attributed the practice of AI washing to companies passing off diminished margins and revenue from a failure to effectively navigate cautious consumers and geopolitical tensions to AI.—
Sasha Rogelberg,
Fortune,
19 Feb. 2026
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And even Lachlan, who shares his father’s paleo-conservative worldview and was therefore granted control of Fox News, ultimately had to accept that much of the Murdoch empire had been sold out from under him when Rupert passed off 20th Century Fox to Disney for $71 billion in 2019.—
The Week US,
TheWeek,
18 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Becket uses this time to take the guy through his entire life story (with some sizable, murder-free jumps notably missing), most of it hinging on that essential wound inflicted on him before he was born.—
Kate Erbland,
IndieWire,
18 Feb. 2026
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All the pain McCarthy had inflicted on people surfaced.—
Kristen Monroe,
Chicago Tribune,
17 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Among the documents is an email exchange from 2009 in which Mandelson appears to discuss Britain’s plans to impose an additional tax on bankers’ bonuses as a punitive, one-off measure following the crash.—
Lauren Kent,
CNN Money,
19 Feb. 2026
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While courts last imposed a death sentence in 2016, South Korea has not carried out an execution since 1997.—
Michael Sinkewicz,
FOXNews.com,
19 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The unique shape helps keep your palm off the table while offering a spot for your thumb to rest.—
Brenda Stolyar,
Wired News,
9 May 2025
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And there’s an art to delegating, without seemingly palming off work to your team.—
Orianna Rosa Royle,
Fortune,
2 Mar. 2023
Verb
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The school also posted a picture of the center, who reportedly has a 7-4 wingspan, palming two basketballs on the program’s website.—
Alex Valdes,
New York Times,
1 Jan. 2026
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Major League Baseball wagged a finger with one hand and palmed gate receipts and a new TV deal in the other.—
Jeremy Collins,
The Atlantic,
12 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Fob off.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fob%20off. Accessed 20 Feb. 2026.
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