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

Relevance

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
  • Men in some communities stop shaving, while women may remove their jewelry.
    — Shushan Karapetian, The Conversation, 19 Oct. 2026
  • 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
Definition of shaving
Verb
  • An April 9 strike on a pumping station cut throughput by about 700,000 barrels a day before Saudi Arabia restored full capacity days later.
    — Steven John, Fortune, 23 Oct. 2026
  • In a city known for fast, adrenaline-pumping vacations, the Scenic Boat Tour invites visitors to slow down and experience Orlando in a totally different light.
    — Amber Love Bond, Southern Living, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of pumping
Verb
  • Intriguingly, this might not just be slapping boards into a plastic box.
    — Sean Hollister, The Verge, 21 Oct. 2026
  • That incident involved Smith rushing the stage and slapping host Chris Rock with an open hand after the Oscars host made jokes about Jada Pinkett Smith.
    — Tracy Brown, Los Angeles Times, 19 Oct. 2026
Definition of slapping
Verb
  • Leslie took issue with a recent stunt Kennedy had pulled at the hospital, which involved making a surprise appearance for a ribbon-cutting ceremony to open his signature vaccine injury clinic.
    — Beth Mole, ArsTechnica, 23 Oct. 2026
  • Stephanie Keith | Bloomberg | Getty Images American Express is cutting thousands of employees as the leading credit card company prepares for artificial intelligence to take over more of its internal processes.
    — Hugh Son, CNBC, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of cutting
Verb
  • Darren Gold, who is now board president, said Gonzales-Torres falsely accused him of shaking her, prompting a city investigation.
    — Dakota Smith, Los Angeles Times, 22 Oct. 2026
  • Traders woke up in a cheerful mood today, shaking off the riots in France and the rising price of oil.
    — Jim Edwards, Fortune, 21 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
  • The younger Bolsonaro's other proposals include trimming the size of the Brazilian state to boost economic growth.
    — Carrie Kahn, NPR, 23 Oct. 2026
  • But new technologies are opening the door to transition a portion of the inputs from petrochemicals to plants, trimming the environmental impact of these fibers.
    — Fairchild Studio, Footwear News, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of trimming
Verb
  • Fear is not simply a tool for swaying the uninformed, undecided voter.
    — Monique Mitchell Turner, The Conversation, 23 Oct. 2026
  • The specialists working on the mission had to ensure the drone could carry a human being without flipping over or swaying excessively, according to the unit.
    — Yuliya Talmazan, NBC news, 19 Oct. 2026
Definition of swaying

Browse Nearby Words

bobbinets
bobbing
bobbing (up)
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Bobbing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bobbing. Accessed 28 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

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

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of grotesque

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

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

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

'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

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?'

'Za' and 9 Other Words to Help You Win at SCRABBLE
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
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
different halloween monsters in silhouette
A Monstrous Vocab Quiz Words That Go Bump in the Night
See All