gobble

/ˈɡɒbl̩/

//ˈɡɒbl̩// verb

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

"gobble" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“gobble” has 7 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #35,737. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#35,737
frequency rank, English
2,313
“G” headwords
7
tracked misspellings
4
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To eat hastily or greedily; to scoff or scarf (often used with up)

Corpus desk

Index EN-gobble · gobble · English

gobble · rank #35,737 · 7 variants · 4 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #35,737
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 4 pairs
  • VAR-MID 7 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,313
  • PHOTO-FINISH girlie

Nearest frequency peer: girlie (-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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “gobble”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “gobble” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

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).

gobble vs google
67% similar
gobble vs goblet
67% similar
gobble vs gable
67% similar

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

Key facts for gobble
PropertyValue
Headwordgobble
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/ˈɡɒbl̩/
Letters6
Frequency rank#35,737
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs4
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “gobble”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).gobblelands 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 “girlie” (#35,736), “Godspeed” (#35,738), “grandparent” (#35,739). Among 2,313 “G” headwords, “gobble” is #35,737. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 7 spelling variants around gobble (IPA /ˈɡɒbl̩/), averb. Corpus frequency is #35,737 among 2,313 “G” headwords. Dominant gloss: "To eat hastily or greedily; to scoff or scarf (often used with up)".

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for gobble, with forms such as "gboble", "ggobble", and "gobbel". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 4 confusable-pair relationships, "google", "goblet", "gable", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English gobben (“to drink or swallow greedily”), of uncertain origin + -le (frequentative suffix). Middle English gobben is perhaps an alteration of Middle English globben (“to gulp down”), related to English gulpen (“to gulp”). However, compare… The correct English form is gobble, spelled G-O-B-B-L-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    To eat hastily or greedily; to scoff or scarf (often used with up)

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. He gobbled four hot dogs in three minutes.
  2. “The farm's had a lot of bad luck, you see. Dad thinks there is a curse on the place.” “Most like. Most like,” said Catweazle, gobbling the banana.

Etymology

From Middle English gobben (“to drink or swallow greedily”), of uncertain origin + -le (frequentative suffix). Middle English gobben is perhaps an alteration of Middle English globben (“to gulp down”), related to English gulpen (“to gulp”). However, compare also French gober.

Synonyms

horkscarfscoff

This word in other languages

bouffer(Français)schlingen(Deutsch)devorar(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • gboble
  • ggobble
  • gobbel
  • gobblle
  • goblbe
  • goble
  • ogbble

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of gobble - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

gboble2ggobble1gobbel2gobblle1goblbe2goble1ogbble2
Edit distance from "gobble"

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 "gobble"?
"gobble" is spelled G-O-B-B-L-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈɡɒbl̩/.
What does "gobble" mean?
As a verb, "gobble" means: To eat hastily or greedily; to scoff or scarf (often used with up)
What words are commonly confused with "gobble"?
"gobble" is commonly confused with "google", "goblet", "gable". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "gobble"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "gobble" is /ˈɡɒbl̩/. 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 "gobble"?
From Middle English gobben (“to drink or swallow greedily”), of uncertain origin + -le (frequentative suffix). Middle English gobben is perhaps an alteration of Middle English globben (“to gulp down”), related to English gulpen (“to gulp”). Howeve... 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 "gobble", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

girlie#35,736hazmat#35,751fanart#35,716fallow#35,715

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (7 here; floor ≥5).

gazed7 variantsgrays7 variantsgrout7 variantsgaudy7 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list