bobbing 1 of 2

verb (1)

present participle of bob
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

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

bobbing

2 of 2

verb (2)

present participle of bob
1
as in pumping
to make short up-and-down movements a family of ducks bobbing on the water

Synonyms & Similar Words
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

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 bobbing
Verb
On Collins Ave in Miami Beach, the yachts along the intracoastal were bobbing nearly at street level. — Alex Harris updated September 27, Miami Herald, 27 Sep. 2026 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 At each destination, Eliza kept doing her cinnamon roll dance, bobbing her head and rocking with joy. — Sean Carlson, Travel + Leisure, 15 Sep. 2026 There's currently no 100-MW Kraaken bobbing offshore, powering 32,000 homes, at least for now. — New Atlas, 4 Sep. 2026 But the calm day gave way to terror when her uncle again looked out into the ocean and saw Summer’s head bobbing in and out of the water. — Julianna Bragg, CNN Money, 23 Aug. 2026 Amidst all those endlessly traversing ships and bobbing cranes, commerce flourished. — Michael Ashley, Forbes.com, 12 Aug. 2026 Rapp and his crewmate, Suzanne Driscoll, hoisted a lobster trap marked by a bobbing buoy from the Casco Bay. — Natalie B. Compton The Washington Post, Arkansas Online, 2 Aug. 2026 And that kind of thing didn’t happen in Mystic, a touristy escape from New York City complete with bobbing boats and sea lions doing tricks at the aquarium. — Brenna Ehrlich, Rolling Stone, 31 July 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bobbing
  1. shaving
  2. pumping
  3. slapping
  4. cutting
  5. shaking
  6. smacking
  7. trimming
  8. swaying
Verb
  • Like almost winning a race, almost shaving a second off my time for the 3200m run, my event in high school, the one that got me into college, a recruit for someone else to gamble on.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 15 Oct. 2026
  • The point-shaving scheme resulted in more than $3 million in fraudulent wagers.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 13 Oct. 2026
Definition of shaving
Verb
  • The authors of this latest paper sought to capture the venom-pumping kinematics of honey bee stingers in order to identify the underlying biomechanics.
    — Jennifer Ouellette, ArsTechnica, 13 Oct. 2026
  • Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund was still pumping cash — more than $5 billion and counting — into the LIV Golf League.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 13 Oct. 2026
Definition of pumping
Verb
  • Less than three months after that deal was announced in January 2022, Smith became an industry pariah after slapping Chris Rock onstage at the Oscars, earning a 10-year ban from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
    — Dade Hayes, Deadline, 13 Oct. 2026
  • Hochman said the nannies were caught on video spanking, slapping or hitting the children.
    — News Editor, CBS News, 6 Oct. 2026
Definition of slapping
Verb
  • Upgrading to the Thrust Variant requires a $245,000 follow-up payment and adds SpaceX cold-gas rear thrusters alongside an active multi-mode fan system for downforce, cutting acceleration down to under a second.
    — Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 16 Oct. 2026
  • And by cutting China off, Washington gave Beijing every reason to build its own alternatives.
    — Nicholas Gordon, Fortune, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of cutting
Verb
  • There’s seat-shaking violence in how the whale breaches the surface and slams its weight back down (the crafty sound design is by James Miller) and body horror in its claustrophobic, spongy inner chambers.
    — Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 15 Oct. 2026
  • Just below the broad smile he’s been wearing all morning, John Ternus’ hands are shaking.
    — Andrew R. Chow, Time, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of shaking
Verb
  • But Varma and Shivam Dube (27) upped the ante in the final three overs by smacking 57 runs against Sufyan Moqim, Ayub and Ahmed Daniyal.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 3 Oct. 2026
  • Carrington was ejected from the game in the first half after smacking Cunningham across the face during Cunningham's layup attempt.
    — Jackson Thompson OutKick, FOXNews.com, 9 Aug. 2026
Definition of smacking
Verb
  • Rather than trimming that weight, Fukushima's lab asked whether anything needed to be worn at all.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 7 Oct. 2026
  • Spectator interference became the ruling, and Volpe was awarded an RBI double that scored Lombard from first base, trimming Tampa Bay's lead to 4-3.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 7 Oct. 2026
Definition of trimming
Verb
  • The observer at the edge of the dance-floor, secretly swaying with the rhythm.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 8 Oct. 2026
  • But the man simply stood there with a dazed expression on his face, swaying gently in the living room of their small, cramped flat, like a lone tree in the breeze.
    — Rachel Heng, New Yorker, 4 Oct. 2026
Definition of swaying

Browse Nearby Words

bobbinets
bobbing
bobbing (up)
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Cite this Entry

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

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