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Glite Dictionary
to bob about

to bob about

1 6.1
Move up and down lightly on water, like small boats
  • phrasal verb
  • /bɑb əˈbaʊt/
  • UK
translation icon : flotar
  • His Adam's apple bobbed about in terror.

Examples

  • "Jane Alice's gawky form bobbed about as she spoke."

    Fiction book (2000)

  • Why would I want anything with a mind of its own bobbing about between my legs?

    Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (2011)

  • His mind seemed to be bobbing about on the surface of a swell.

    Fiction book (1997)

  • When you place a trap, it will bob about and activate as soon as the spirit bumps into it.

    Blog text (1)

  • "But it is," cried Andrew, who, at the thought of the float, became animated, bobbing about excitedly, waving his stick.

    Fiction book (1993)

  • He bobbed about randomly.

    Fiction book (2001)

  • The beach ball was bobbing about on the waves, making it difficult to catch.

  • As she walked through the garden, the butterflies were bobbing about from flower to flower.

  • The little boat began bobbing about as the wind picked up, causing the passengers to hold on tightly.

Synonyms

to bob
vsto bob about
24 2.7

To move up and down quickly in short movements

is lighter and can include floating and wider directional motion
to bob around
vsto bob about
  • US
1 3.9

Move up and down gently while floating in water or air

is similar but stresses movement without a fixed direction more broadly
to bobble
vsto bob about
1 3.7

To move up and down quickly and lightly many times

is gentler and more about drifting without a set direction

Antonyms

to stand still
75 1.0

Stay upright in one place without moving

How Rough

to toss
94 1.4
to rock
230 1.0
to bob about
  • UK
1 6.1
to float
645 1.0

Surface Forms

bob about infinitive
bobbed about past
bobbed about past participle
bobbing about present participle
bobs about third person singular

Morphology

bob + about

The meaning is directly and transparently built from 'bob' (a short repeated vertical movement) combined with 'about' (around/nearby), so a learner who knows both words can infer a light up-and-down or around motion. This verb + particle compositional pattern is common in English and cross-linguistically familiar, making the expression immediately comprehensible to a B1 learner.

Etymology

Bob about comes from the simple picture of a small float or cork that bobs up and down and drifts about on the water. So, the phrase means 'to move lightly up and down or around'.