Bobbin

noun

noun ·2 syllables ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A spool or cylinder around which wire is coiled.

    "Ignition coils using a bobbin molded from high-performance polyester withstand open-circuit bench tests to 70kV."

  2. 2
    a winder around which thread or tape or film or other flexible materials can be wound wordnet
  3. 3
    In a sewing machine, the small spool that holds the lower thread.

    "Wind the bobbin, place it in the machine, and raise the thread."

  4. 4
    The little rounded piece of wood at the end of a latch string, which is pulled to raise the latch.

    "She went from the linhay and boldly pulled the bobbin of the fuel-house door."

  5. 5
    A fine cord or narrow braid.

Synonyms

All synonyms
reelspool

Example

More examples

"Pull the bobbin, and the latch will go up."

Etymology

Borrowed from French bobine, recorded in English since 1530.

Related phrases

bobbin lacebobbin tankbobbin-and-fly framesewing machine

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.