What does "mobile" mean?
A kinetic sculpture or decorative arrangement made of items hanging so that they can move independently from each other.
Mobile
/ˈməʊbaɪl/ adj, name, noun
adj, name, noun ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A kinetic sculpture or decorative arrangement made of items hanging so that they can move independently from each other.
- Grammar: mobile is listed as adj, name, noun.
- Nearest alternatives: able to adapt, active, adaptable, adjustable.
- Useful contrasts: stable, ankylotic, astatic.
- Usage evidence: This type of mobile phone sells well.
How to use "mobile"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "mobile" 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 "mobile" 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 "mobile" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "mobile" 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 "mobile" is acting as adj, name, noun 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 "able to adapt" 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 "mobile", 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 kinetic sculpture or decorative arrangement made of items hanging so that they can move independently from each other.
- 2 sculpture suspended in midair whose delicately balanced parts can be set in motion by air currents wordnet
- 3 Ellipsis of mobile phone. India, Ireland, UK, abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis
"Mobiles squerking, mobiles chirping / Take the money and run"
- 4 The internet accessed via mobile devices; the version of a product seen on mobile devices. Internet, uncountable
"There are many business opportunities in mobile."
- 5 One who moves or can move (e.g. to travel).
"[…] if the constrained "immobiles" are given the same transportation access as the unconstrained "mobiles". […] We concentrated on a mobile teenager population that had good public transportation or automobile access and a[…]"
Show 2 more definitions
- 6 An object capable of moving under its own power.
- 7 A creature or NPC that can navigate and interact with the game world (now often shortened to mob). broadly, dated
"MUD has a type of character called a mobile. These are monsters controlled by the program such as the Dragon and the Vampire. To kill these a band of adventurers need to hunt down the creature hurling a combined strength to vanquish it."
Adjective
- 1 Capable of being moved, especially on wheels.
"a mobile home"
- 2 Pertaining to or by agency of mobile phones.
"mobile number"
- 3 Characterized by an extreme degree of fluidity; moving or flowing with great freedom.
"Mercury is a mobile liquid."
- 4 Easily moved in feeling, purpose, or direction; excitable; changeable; fickle.
"the quick and mobile curiosity of her disposition"
- 5 Changing in appearance and expression under the influence of the mind.
"mobile features"
Show 1 more definition
- 6 Capable of being moved, aroused, or excited; capable of spontaneous movement.
Adjective
- 1 affording change (especially in social status) wordnet
- 2 capable of changing quickly from one state or condition to another wordnet
- 3 moving or capable of moving readily (especially from place to place) wordnet
- 4 having transportation available wordnet
- 5 migratory wordnet
Proper Noun
- 1 A city, the county seat of Mobile County, in southwestern Alabama.
"Oh, Mama / Is this really the end? / To be stuck here inside of Mobile / With the Memphis blues again"
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
"This type of mobile phone sells well."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "mobile"?
Common synonyms include: able to adapt, active, adaptable, adjustable, agile, alert.
How do you use "mobile" in a sentence?
This type of mobile phone sells well.
How do you pronounce "mobile"?
Pronounced /ˈməʊbaɪl/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English, from Old French, from Latin mōbilis (“easy to be moved, moveable”), from moveō (“move”). The video-gaming sense was coined by Richard Bartle to describe NPCs or creatures capable of moving "under their own power" in the 1978 video game Multi-User Dungeon. Bartle retracted an earlier claim of his that it was from the kinetic sculpture sense of mobile (for the "unpredictable but limited" motion of the hanging ornaments).
Etymology 2
From the name of (Mobile Bay, from the name of) the Mobile tribe, perhaps from the name of a Native town somewhere in what is now central Alabama, various spelled Mabila or Maubila.