bobble means A furry ball attached on top of a hat. It carries an Arena rating of 1510, earned across 2 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, bobble ranks #64 of 17,130 for Most Ingenious Words, #476 of 17,128 for Most Whimsical Words, #2,584 of 17,120 for Most Beautiful Words, #3,205 of 17,114 for Most Satisfying to Say.
bobble is pronounced /ˈbɒbəl/.
Why “bobble” is a great word
A repeated, uncertain bouncing movement or a small, round ornamental tuft. From the verb 'bob' (to move up and down) + the frequentative suffix '-le', implying repeated action; the noun is from 'bob' (a short, jerking movement or a round mass) + the diminutive suffix '-le'. The verb sense is attested from the early 19th century. Unlike a 'bauble', a brittle, decorative trinket, or a 'fumble', a definitive loss of control, a bobble is the tender middle ground of almost-control. It is the desperate dance of a baseball at the lip of a fielder's glove, the cheerful jig of a pom-pom on a winter hat, and the tiny sphere of lint pried from a sweater's weave—a testament to the fragile border where we almost, but never quite, keep hold of things.
Etymology
* (noun): from bob + -le (diminutive suffix).
* (verb): from bob + -le (frequentative suffix).
Compare bauble.
noun
- A furry ball attached on top of a hat.
- Elasticated band used for securing hair (for instance in a ponytail), a hair tie
- A pill (a ball formed on the surface of the fabric, as on laundered clothes).
- A localized set of stitches forming a raised bump.e.g.“From the top the sample shows four stitch popcorns, five stitch bobbles, two rows of bells and a central leaf with leaves sloping to the left and right each side.”
- A wobbling motion.e.g.“My favourite dubious history of the head bobble was put forward by an Indian management consultant […]”
verb
- To bob up and down.
- To make a mistake in.
- To roll slowly.e.g.“A neat interchange between Mikel Arteta and Wilshere set up Podolski and his finish bobbled into the net via Gallas.”
- To mishandle a ball.
- To use the bobble stitch.e.g.“You've been cabling, twisting, popcorning and bobbling. See, we told you that they weren't so hard.”
Words closest in meaning
By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.