Bobblehead

noun, slang

noun, slang ·Moderate ·College level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A collectible doll with a bobbing head.
  2. 2
    A thoughtless person. derogatory, figuratively

    "Muzzling Kelly also elevates a semi-professional obscurantist to the status of free speech martyr, and that invites a cacophonous pile-on from the rightwing bobble heads who screech about the left’s obsession with identity politics while shovelling identity politics at their audiences."

  3. 3
    An Indian. derogatory, ethnic, offensive, slang, slur, uncommon

Example

More examples

"Tom has a bobblehead on his dashboard."

Etymology

From bobble + head. Sense 3 derives from a common gesture found in South Asian cultures, most notably in India.

Related phrases

bobble-head doll syndrome

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