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fob

/fɒb/noun, adjective

fob is spelled F-O-B: 3 letters and one syllable. It appears 1.3 times per million words in written English, the 25,367th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, fob means “A little pocket near the waistline of a pair of trousers or in a waistcoat or vest to hold money or valuables, especially a pocket watch” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of fob is fobs.

How many letters and syllables are in fob?

Letters3: F-O-B
Syllables1 (from its American pronunciation)
In writing1.3 times per million words; the 25,367th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How common is fob?

Fob appears 1.3 times per million words in written English, the 25,367th most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce fob?

  • /fɒb/

Fob has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-fob.wav, En-au-FOB.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Forms of fob

  • fobs plural, present, singular, he/she/it
  • fobbing participle, present
  • fobbed participle, past
  • fub

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does fob mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

noun

  1. 1

    A little pocket near the waistline of a pair of trousers or in a waistcoat or vest to hold money or valuables, especially a pocket watch.

  2. 2

    A short chain or ribbon to connect such a pocket to the watch.

  3. 3

    A small ornament attached to such a chain.

    fob seal

  4. 4

    A hand-held electronic device that can be used as a remote control or as a key to unlock motor cars, doors, etc., and thus, modern car keys.

adjective

as FOB
  1. 1

    Initialism of free on board.

  2. 2

    slangInitialism of fresh off the boat.

noun

as FOB
  1. 1

    Initialism of forward operating base.

  2. 2

    Initialism of flash of brilliance.

  3. 3

    Initialism of freedom of belief.

  4. 4

    USInitialism of friend of Bill: a supporter of Bill Clinton.

  5. 5

    IndiaInitialism of foot overbridge: a pedestrian overpass.

  6. 6

    derogatoryInitialism of fresh off the boat, a recent immigrant.

  7. 7

    Abbreviation of fecal occult blood.

verb

  1. 1

    archaicTo cheat, to deceive, to trick, to take in, to impose upon someone.

  2. 2

    archaicTo beat; to maul.

adjective

  1. 1

    Alternative letter-case form of FOB (“free on board”).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Fob in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchchâtelaine (chain or ribbon), bip (remote control for locking and unlocking a…)
GermanUhrkette (chain or ribbon), Funkschlüssel (remote control for locking and unlocking a…), Schlüsselanhänger (ornament)
Portuguesecorrente (chain or ribbon), berloque (ornament)
Spanishleontina (chain or ribbon), control remoto automotriz, control automotor (remote control for locking and unlocking a…), engatusar (To cheat, to trick)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

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