sob

B2 Topic:Actions & Processes

US /ˌɛs oʊ ˈbi/ UK /sɒb/ See IPA manual

Freq #14489

Meanings

1

verb
To cry loudly with short, sharp breaths.

She sobbed quietly into her pillow all night.
2

noun
A short, sharp gasp made while crying.

He told the story between sobs.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

2 noun · a short, sharp gasp made... sobbing

Word family

Forms sobbedsobbingsobs

Derived forms lolsobsobbysobfestsobful

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

sob stuff
overly sentimental stories intended to arouse pity

Noun + noun

Etymology

From Middle English sobben, perhaps from Middle Low German sabben (“to drool, slobber, salivate”). Cognate with West Frisian sabje, sobje (“to suck”), Dutch zabben, sabbelen (“to suck”), zabberen (“to drool”), German Low German sabbeln, severn (“to drool”), German sabbern (“to drool, slobber”), Norwegian sabbe (“to spill, drop, make a mess”). Compare also Old English sēofian (“to lament”), German saufen (“to drink, swig”).

sobben Middle English sabben gml

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Actions & Processes

External links

# sob

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B2
**Part of speech:** verb, noun
**IPA (US):** /ˌɛs oʊ ˈbi/
**IPA (UK):** /sɒb/
**Frequency rank:** 14489

## Meanings
1. To cry loudly with short, sharp breaths.
2. A short, sharp gasp made while crying.

## Examples
- She sobbed quietly into her pillow all night.
- He told the story between sobs.

## Derived Forms
- lolsob
- sobby
- sobfest
- sobful

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: sobben
- Root: sabben

## Etymology
From Middle English sobben, perhaps from Middle Low German sabben (“to drool, slobber, salivate”). Cognate with West Frisian sabje, sobje (“to suck”), Dutch zabben, sabbelen (“to suck”), zabberen (“to drool”), German Low German sabbeln, severn (“to drool”), German sabbern (“to drool, slobber”), Norwegian sabbe (“to spill, drop, make a mess”). Compare also Old English sēofian (“to lament”), German saufen (“to drink, swig”).

## AI Etymology
Sob is from Middle English sobben, perhaps from Middle Low German sabben (“to drool, slobber, salivate”). Cognate with West Frisian sabje, sobje (“to suck”), Dutch zabben, sabbelen (“to suck”), zabberen (“to drool”), German Low German sabbeln, severn (“to drool”), German sabbern (“to drool, slobber”), Norwegian sabbe (“to spill, drop, make a mess”). Compare also Old English sēofian (“to lament”), German saufen (“to drink, swig”). Important forms in the word's history include Middle English sobben, gml sabben. In current use it includes senses such as To cry loudly with short, sharp breaths and A short, sharp gasp made while crying.

## Topics
- Actions & Processes

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sob