bob

/bɒb/

//bɒb// verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"bob" is a 3-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“bob” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #2,331) as a verb. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#2,331
frequency rank, English
4,121
“B” headwords
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To move gently and vertically, in either a single motion or repeatedly up and down, at or near the surface of a body of water, or similar medium.

Corpus desk

Index EN-bob · bob · English

bob · rank #2,331 · 0 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #2,331
  • LEN-MID 3 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,121
  • PHOTO-FINISH blame

Nearest frequency peer: blame (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Frequency neighbours of confusable “bob”

Peers at similar corpus weight, separate from look-alike pairs below

corpus weight

What this shows Bars place “bob” against nearest ranked English headwords, not a reprint of the confusable-pair desk.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

bob vs by
33% similar
bob vs BS
0% similar
bob vs br
33% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for bob
PropertyValue
Headwordbob
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/bɒb/
Letters3
Frequency rank#2,331
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Corpus rank beside confusables of “bob”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).boblands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “blame” (#2,330), “bowl” (#2,332), “bird” (#2,329). Among 4,121 “B” headwords, “bob” is #2,331. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for bob is neighbouring look-alikes ("by", "BS", …), not just typos; it is averb pronounced /bɒb/. Frequency #2,331 among 4,121 “B” headwords. 6 recorded senses keep meaning in play.

No generated misspelling entries exist for bob in our index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "by", "BS", "br", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English bobben (“to strike, beat, shake, jog”), of uncertain origin. Compare Scots bob (“to mark, dance with a bobbing motion”), Icelandic boppa (“to wave up and down”), Swedish bobba (“to bob”), Dutch dobberen ("bobbing"). The correct English form is bob, spelled B-O-B.

Definition

  1. 1
    To move gently and vertically, in either a single motion or repeatedly up and down, at or near the surface of a body of water, or similar medium.
  2. 2
    To move (something) as though it were bobbing in water.
  3. 3
    To move (something) as though it were bobbing in water.
  4. 4
    To curtsy.
  5. 5
    To strike with a quick, light blow; to tap.
  6. 6
    Synonym of blob (“catch eels using worms strung on thread”).

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how bob appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. The cork bobbed gently in the calm water.
  2. The ball, which we had thought lost, suddenly bobbed up out of the water.

Etymology

From Middle English bobben (“to strike, beat, shake, jog”), of uncertain origin. Compare Scots bob (“to mark, dance with a bobbing motion”), Icelandic boppa (“to wave up and down”), Swedish bobba (“to bob”), Dutch dobberen ("bobbing").

This word in other languages

ballotter(Français)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "bob"?
"bob" is spelled B-O-B. The IPA pronunciation is /bɒb/.
What does "bob" mean?
As a verb, "bob" means: To move gently and vertically, in either a single motion or repeatedly up and down, at or near the surface of a body of water, or similar medium.
What words are commonly confused with "bob"?
"bob" is commonly confused with "by", "BS", "br". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "bob"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "bob" is /bɒb/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "bob"?
From Middle English bobben (“to strike, beat, shake, jog”), of uncertain origin. Compare Scots bob (“to mark, dance with a bobbing motion”), Icelandic boppa (“to wave up and down”), Swedish bobba (“to bob”), Dutch dobberen ("bobbing"). See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "bob", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 3 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

sat#2,314Sam#2,313lay#2,302Jim#2,393

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list