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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The organization added that a true sign of atonement from Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, would be to refrain from antisemitism in the future, concluding their statement by wishing him well on his mental health journey.—
Preezy Brown,
VIBE.com,
27 Jan. 2026
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Stacey also continues to advocate for diabetes visibility, and wishes to remind Kristy through this grapevine to re-up her generous annual contribution to support type 1 research.—
Brittany Allen,
Literary Hub,
27 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Williams and Storrie, both in official white, pink and yellow fits, had their own moment as torchbearers, with Williams passing off the flame to Storrie.—
Nicole Fell,
HollywoodReporter,
25 Jan. 2026
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After a campaign marred by clashes at opposition rallies, and what the United Nations said was widespread repression and intimidation, voting passed off peacefully on Thursday.—
Reuters,
NBC news,
17 Jan. 2026
Verb
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An autopsy conducted by the DuPage County Coroner found roughly 70 stab wounds on Morales, most inflicted by a knife.—
Landon Mion,
FOXNews.com,
29 Jan. 2026
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Most of them were in the South, where weekend blasts of freezing rain caused tree limbs and power lines to snap, inflicting crippling outages on northern Mississippi and parts of Tennessee.—
Russ Bynum,
Los Angeles Times,
27 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The 20-month sentence imposed on Kim was a surprise after independent counsel Min Joong-ki called for a 15-year prison term on three charges, including stock price manipulation, political funding law violations and accepting bribes.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
29 Jan. 2026
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Mikel Arteta and his players are facing criticism for not imposing themselves on opposition teams forcefully enough, allowing valuable points to slip through their fingers at such a crucial point of the season.—
Graham Ruthven,
Forbes.com,
29 Jan. 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 31 Jan. 2026.
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