bobbed 1 of 2

verb (1)

past tense of bob
as in shaved
to make (something) shorter or smaller with the use of a cutting instrument bobbed her waist-length hair herself on her 18th birthday

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

bobbed

2 of 2

verb (2)

past tense of bob
1
as in pumped
to make short up-and-down movements a family of ducks bobbing on the water

Synonyms & Similar Words
2
as in smacked
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

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 bobbed
Verb
On a recent morning, surfers bobbed in the water off North Beach, not far from the rocky structure shoring up the train tracks by the sea. — ABC News, 27 Sep. 2026 As the balloon carrying the cauldron rose and bobbed a couple hundred feet overhead, many got busy taking photos and recording videos and selfies. — Hannah Bloch, NPR, 9 Sep. 2026 During the Hudson Williams look-alike contest, Hoefer zoned out as a large cardboard cutout of the Heated Rivalry star’s face bobbed over the crowd. — E. Alex Jung, Vulture, 8 Sep. 2026 My Lady Clam bobbed in the water, which didn’t look so turbulent from where Kath sat. — Literary Hub, 11 Aug. 2026 One afternoon as a rookie, listening to coaches drone on in a dark room with film cutups flashing in front of them, his head bobbed. — Alec Lewis, New York Times, 24 July 2026 Six young women — hair fashionably bobbed, shins covered by knee-high socks — posed in dark, modest swimming suits in the tiled abyss of an empty swimming pool. — Los Angeles Times, 23 July 2026 Wooden boats bobbed in long rows, their names and registration numbers hand-painted on the hulls, as men in neon vests unloaded catch and frigate birds swooped down to pick at the scraps. — Will Freeman, New Yorker, 30 June 2026 Yellow dandelions bobbed in the breeze. — Maggie Slepian, Longreads, 14 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bobbed
  1. shaved
  2. pumped
  3. smacked
  4. cut
  5. shook
  6. slapped
  7. clipped
  8. jerked
Verb
  • Especially right now, since Amazon just shaved 25% off for the Prime Day afterparty.
    — Kelsey Fogarty, PC Magazine, 9 Oct. 2026
  • Apparently, Tony Romo shaved two strokes off his final round scorecard.
    — Zach Dean OutKick, FOXNews.com, 8 Oct. 2026
Definition of shaved
Verb
  • The fuel was pumped across a hose to Mineral Europa by a converted bunkering vessel, Shenghang Yongle, which entered service less than five weeks before the operation.
    — Muskan Bhatia, Interesting Engineering, 15 Oct. 2026
  • Peralta pumped a fist and screamed joyfully walking off the mound in the sixth after fanning Petey Halpin swinging at a 3-2 changeup.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 13 Oct. 2026
Definition of pumped
Verb
  • The Eagles also have been smacked with injuries and played without several key starters.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 5 Oct. 2026
  • Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper, two longtime opponents for this franchise, then smacked consecutive homers off Lee, who’d surrendered three long balls the entire regular season.
    — Gabriel Burns, AJC.com, 1 Oct. 2026
Definition of smacked
Verb
  • Sullivan denied that the law would cut Medicaid for Alaskans, saying the Affordable Care Act had a greater impact and raised insurance premiums in the state drastically.
    — Matthew Choi The Washington Post, Arkansas Online, 17 Oct. 2026
  • The new version of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child has been cut from a five-hour show performed across two parts to a single three-hour performance as it is performed on Broadway.
    — Jake Kanter, Deadline, 17 Oct. 2026
Definition of cut
Verb
  • The crossing left at least 140 migrants dead and shook the city perched on the Mediterranean coast.
    — JOSEPH WILSON, Arkansas Online, 14 Oct. 2026
  • Both were arrested and were being held in separate prisons in the central city of Isfahan over their participation in the nationwide January protests that shook the Islamic republic.
    — Frank Andrews, CBS News, 13 Oct. 2026
Definition of shook
Verb
  • After Daria Rae slapped her backstage, Hartwell was rewarded with a shot at the Knockouts Championship against Brookside.
    — Ryan Gaydos OutKick, FOXNews.com, 12 Oct. 2026
  • At the funeral my half-sister told me I was emotionally disturbed and my memories of being slapped were lies.
    — R. Eric Thomas, Denver Post, 10 Oct. 2026
Definition of slapped
Verb
  • That was the dynamic that Hyde-Smith, a cattle rancher and former state agriculture commissioner, was addressing in her interview that was clipped in Colom’s video.
    — Nicholas Riccardi, Fortune, 15 Oct. 2026
  • That was the dynamic that Hyde-Smith, a cattle rancher and former state agriculture commissioner, was addressing in her interview that was clipped in Colom's video.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of clipped
Verb
  • During the test, Linton jerked and twitched in what prosecutors described as an attempt to fake a seizure.
    — James Queally, Los Angeles Times, 2 Oct. 2026
  • Somewhere nearby, in a dark office, an eavesdropping oreja has just jerked to attention on his hard little chair.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 3 Sep. 2026
Definition of jerked

Browse Nearby Words

bob
bobbed
bobbed (up)
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Cite this Entry

“Bobbed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bobbed. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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