What does "lob" mean?
A pass or stroke which arcs high into the air.
Lob
/lɒb/ name, noun, verb, slang
name, noun, verb, slang ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A pass or stroke which arcs high into the air.
- Grammar: lob is listed as name, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: arc throw, bandy, berth, boost.
- Useful contrasts: attach, catch, direct drive.
- Usage evidence: Press the middle mouse button to lob a grenade. Hold down the middle mouse button to 'cook' the grenade.
How to use "lob"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "lob" 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 "lob" 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 "lob" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "lob" 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 "lob" is acting as name, 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 "arc throw" 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 "lob", 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 pass or stroke which arcs high into the air.
"The guard launched a desperate lob over the outstretched arms of the defender."
- 2 A lump.
"And, moreover, I had no sooner set my eyes on the keys, than I remembered where there was a lob of money lying in Purcell's safe, that I —"
- 3 A fish, the European pollock.
- 4 A long bob haircut.
- 5 A form of fraud in which a person asks for change in a shop, palms some of the coins, and tells the shopkeeper that he has not given them enough. UK, obsolete, slang
"Some are acute for the Lob; which is, going into a Shop to have a Guinea or Pistole chang'd, and the Change being given, the bringer of the Gold telling it over, Palms Two or Three Shillings, then returning the Money, says there wants so much, which the Shop-keeper telling over again, and finding short, very innocently crys 'tis true, and makes up the Summ."
Show 10 more definitions
- 6 Abbreviation of large object. abbreviation, alt-of
- 7 the act of propelling something (as a ball or shell etc.) in a high arc wordnet
- 8 A country bumpkin; a yokel. obsolete
"Farewell, thou lob of spirits; I'll be gone: Our queen and all her elves come here anon."
- 9 Initialism of line of business. abbreviation, alt-of, initialism
- 10 an easy return of a tennis ball in a high arc wordnet
- 11 A clumsy person.
- 12 Initialism of limit order book, an order book of limit orders. abbreviation, alt-of, initialism
- 13 The person who comes last in a race.
- 14 Initialism of live on board (i.e. liveaboard) abbreviation, alt-of, initialism
- 15 A lob-worm.
Verb
- 1 To throw or hit a ball into the air in a high arc. transitive
"The guard lobbed a pass just over the defender."
- 2 propel in a high arc wordnet
- 3 To throw. colloquial, transitive
"In the months leading up to the election, government representatives took up a cybercrime case against Thanathorn for criticising the government on a Facebook Live video... They also lobbed more legal cases at his party for allegedly spreading false information."
- 4 To put, place. colloquial, transitive
"Lob the bacon in the pot."
- 5 To hit, kick, or throw a ball over another player in a game. transitive
"Wigan took the lead when Hugo Rodallega lobbed David Stockdale from close range having earlier headed against the post."
Show 2 more definitions
- 6 To let fall heavily or lazily. obsolete, transitive
"And their poor jades / Lob down their heads."
- 7 To reach or arrive at (a place). Australia, informal, intransitive
"So with great trepidation we lobbed at the theatre and were escorted to our seats[.]"
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname.
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
"Press the middle mouse button to lob a grenade. Hold down the middle mouse button to 'cook' the grenade."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "lob"?
Common synonyms include: arc throw, bandy, berth, boost, bowl, buoy up.
How do you use "lob" in a sentence?
Press the middle mouse button to lob a grenade. Hold down the middle mouse button to 'cook' the grenade.
How do you pronounce "lob"?
Pronounced /lɒb/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
First attested late 16th c. in the sense "allow or cause to dangle, hang," from sense 2.
Etymology 2
From Middle English lob (“a lazy lout, bundle of clothing”), from Old English *lobb, *lobbe word for lumpish or unwieldy things, from Proto-Germanic *lubbǭ (“that which hangs or dangles”), from Proto-Indo-European *lewbʰ-, *lep- (“to peel, skin”). Compare Danish lobbes (“bumpkin, clown”), Old English loppe (“spider”) (in the sense of something that hangs or dangles). Possibly influenced or borrowed through Welsh llob (“lump”).
Etymology 3
From Middle English lob (“pollock”), cognate with Middle Dutch and Middle Low German lobbe (“a type of small plump or stocky fish, cod”), Danish lubbe, from Old Norse lubba, ultimately from sense 2 in the sense of "clumsy, heavily or lumpily hanging."
Etymology 4
Blend of long + bob.