gobble

1 of 2

verb (1)

gob·​ble ˈgä-bəl 

gobbled; gobbling ˈgä-b(ə-)liŋ 

transitive verb

1

: to swallow or eat greedily

2

: to take eagerly : grab

—usually used with up

3

: to read rapidly or greedily

—usually used with up

gobble

2 of 2

verb (2)

gobbled; gobbling ˈgä-b(ə-)liŋ 

intransitive verb

1

: to make the natural guttural noise of a male turkey

2

: to make a sound resembling the gobble of a turkey

gobble noun

Synonyms

Verb (1)

• bolt
• cram
• devour
• glut [archaic]
• gorge
• gormandize
• gulp
• ingurgitate
• inhale
• raven
• scarf
• scoff
• slop
• wolf

Examples of gobble in a Sentence

Verb (1)

gobbled the sandwiches like they hadn't eaten for days

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

Wolves’ first goal was a simple, clipped ball over the top by Nelson Semedo that should have been gobbled up by the 6ft 5in (196cm) Jannik Vestergaard. —Rob Tanner, The Athletic, 23 Dec. 2024

Chinese marques have been steadily gobbling up their home turf, which happens to be the world's largest automobile market. —New Atlas, 18 Dec. 2024

Comcast lacks popular lifestyle channels — the type that Discovery gobbled up through its 2018 acquisition of Scripps Networks, which folded HGTV, Travel Channel and Food Network into Zaslav’s company. —Meg James, Los Angeles Times, 12 Dec. 2024

Turkey has been gobbled, Black Friday mania has come to an end and now, its time to get into the holiday spirit with some feel-good Christmas movies. —Joyce Orlando, The Tennessean, 2 Dec. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Verb (1)

probably irregular from gob entry 1

Verb (2)

imitative

First Known Use

Verb (1)

1583, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb (2)

1680, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

gobble

1 of 2 verb

gob·​ble ˈgäb-əl 

gobbled; gobbling -(ə-)liŋ 

1

: to swallow or eat greedily

2

: to take eagerly : grab

the small country was gobbled up by its neighbor

gobble

2 of 2 verb

: to make the sound of a male turkey

gobble noun