What does "gob" mean?
A lump of soft or sticky material.
Gob
/ɡɒb/ noun, verb, slang
noun, verb, slang ·Common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A lump of soft or sticky material.
- Grammar: gob is listed as noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: cakehole, seaman, accumulation, acervation.
- Useful contrasts: civilian, fluid, inhale.
- Usage evidence: If only you'd kept your gob shut, Tom!
How to use "gob"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "gob" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "gob" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "gob" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "gob" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "gob" is acting as noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "cakehole" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "gob", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A lump of soft or sticky material. countable
"1952, The Glass Industry, Volume 33, Ashlee Publishing Company, page 309, These inventors have discovered that gobs may be fed at widely spaced times without allowing the glass to flow during the interval but instead flushes out the chilled glass which accumulates during the dwell."
- 2 The mouth. Commonwealth, Ireland, UK, slang
"He′s always stuffing his gob with fast food."
- 3 Waste material in old mine workings, goaf. uncountable
"This consisted in wheeling gob back to the most distant part of the stope and filling up the sets right up to the roof."
- 4 A sailor. US, slang
"Well I have taken the oath of allegiance for 4 years service anywhere in the world and am now a real 'gob' in the U. S. Navy."
- 5 informal terms for the mouth wordnet
Show 4 more definitions
- 6 Saliva or phlegm. slang, uncountable
"He spat a big ball of gob on to the pavement."
- 7 a lump of slimy stuff wordnet
- 8 A whoopie pie. US, countable, regional
- 9 a man who serves as a sailor wordnet
Verb
- 1 To gather into a lump.
"1997 March, William G. Tapply, How to Catch a Trout on a Sandwich, Field & Stream, page 60, I liked to gob up two or three worms on a snelled hook, pinch three or four split shot onto the leader, and plunk it into the dark water."
- 2 To pack away waste material in order to support the walls of the mine. intransitive
- 3 To spit, especially to spit phlegm. ambitransitive, slang
Example
"If only you'd kept your gob shut, Tom!"
Common questions
What is a synonym for "gob"?
Common synonyms include: cakehole, seaman, accumulation, acervation, agglomerate, agglomeration.
How do you use "gob" in a sentence?
If only you'd kept your gob shut, Tom!
How do you pronounce "gob"?
Pronounced /ɡɒb/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English gobbe (also Middle English gobet), from Old French gobet, gobe (“lump, mouthful”), from Transalpine Gaulish *gobbo- (“neb, muzzle”).
Etymology 2
Probably from Irish gob, Scottish Gaelic gob (“beak, mouth”).
Etymology 3
Back-formation from gobbing, or a specified use of Etymology 1, above.
Etymology 4
Shortened from gobby or gobshite.