sobbed; sobbing
1
a
: to catch the breath audibly in a spasmodic contraction of the throat
b
: to cry or weep with convulsive catching of the breath
2
: to make a sound like that of a sob or sobbing
1
: to bring to a specified state by sobbing
sobbed himself to sleep
2
: to utter with sobs
sobbed out her grief
1
: an act of sobbing
2
: a sound like that of a sob
plural SOBs or SOB's
slang, sometimes offensive
: son of a bitch
He's one arrogant/tough/greedy SOB.
… a guy who brought two dozen roses to a first coffee date and told you he felt like the luckiest SOB on the planet in the first five minutes.—
Today
Today
Examples of sob in a Sentence
Verb
He began to sob uncontrollably.
She could not stop sobbing.
“I hate you,” she sobbed.
Noun (2)
I hate that miserable SOB.
Recent Examples on the WebConstance Grady, Vox, 8 Aug. 2024
Vekić began sobbing at the change of ends, but composed herself remarkably well to hold serve and force a tie break, which Paolini won after almost three hours of sublime tennis.
—Matias Grez, CNN, 11 July 2024
Zoey Lyttle, Peoplemag, 16 Aug. 2024
Shehzad was sharing a bed, head to toe, with another woman, a heart-attack survivor who was being embraced by her family members, some of them shaking with sobs.
—Ross Andersen, The Atlantic, 13 Aug. 2024
See all Example Sentences for sob 
Verb
If Hoover fans film themselves sobbing over her books, Hoover haters post about flipping her books around at bookstores so that the covers are backward.
—Constance Grady, Vox, 8 Aug. 2024
Vekić began sobbing at the change of ends, but composed herself remarkably well to hold serve and force a tie break, which Paolini won after almost three hours of sublime tennis.
—Matias Grez, CNN, 11 July 2024
Noun
Everyone else at the rehearsal dinner was as shocked as the bride-to-be, as shown by the reactions of her sister by her side at the dinner table, and later in the video, by her grandparents' heartfelt sobs.
—Zoey Lyttle, Peoplemag, 16 Aug. 2024
Shehzad was sharing a bed, head to toe, with another woman, a heart-attack survivor who was being embraced by her family members, some of them shaking with sobs.
—Ross Andersen, The Atlantic, 13 Aug. 2024
See all Example Sentences for sob
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'sob.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near sob
Cite this Entry
“Sob.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sob. Accessed 1 Oct. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
sob
1 of 2 verb
sobbed; sobbing
1
: to weep especially with short gasping sounds
2
: to bring to a specified state by sobbing
sobbed myself to sleep
3
a
: to make a sound like that of sobbing
the wind sobbed through the trees
b
: to utter with sobs
sobbed out their story
sob
2 of 2 noun1
: an act of sobbing
2
: a sound of or like that of sobbing
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