What does bobble mean?
Bobble is a compact English word with two distinct everyday lives. As a noun, its best-known meaning is the small fluffy ball of wool sewn onto the crown of a knitted hat — the classic 'bobble hat' of cold British winters — though it can describe any such pom-pom-like adornment. Its second life is less decorative and more embarrassing: a bobble is also a fumble, a clumsy moment when a ball slips, skids, or squirms out of someone's control. This sporting sense is so established that commentators use 'he's bobled it' without a second thought, and the verb form — to bobble a catch, to bobble a grounder — is standard in American baseball and football talk. The word derives as a frequentative of 'bob', echoing its quick up-and-down motion, and dates back to the early nineteenth century. Informal and affectionate in tone, bobble is useful precisely because it captures both a cosy object and a human error with equal economy.
A small ball of wool or similar soft material attached to clothing, especially the top of a knitted hat; also, an instance of fumbling or losing control of a ball or object.
"The toddler kept grabbing at the bobble on top of his mother's hat."
In British English strongly associated with 'bobble hat'; the fumble sense is common in sports reporting.
To fumble or mishandle a ball or object, or to move with a light, quick bouncing motion.
"He bobble the snap and the quarterback had to fall on the loose ball."
Chiefly used in sports contexts, especially American football and baseball.
Standard plural; used both for multiple pom-poms and for repeated fumbles.
"Her new scarf was finished with three cheerful red bobbles."
The same little word names both a pompom on your winter hat and the moment a footballer lets the ball skitter off his boot.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of bobble
Bobble arose in the early nineteenth century as a frequentative formation on the verb 'bob', which itself means to move up and down with short quick movements. The frequentative suffix '-le' creates verbs and nouns denoting repeated or continued action, which explains both the bouncing motion implied by the word and the pom-pom that jounces atop a hat. It belongs to the same family as other '-le' formations on 'bob', and its compound relatives include 'bobtail', 'bobcat', and 'bobber'.
Related word forms
How bobble is actually used
Informal in most uses; extremely common in British usage for the woollen pom-pom sense ('bobble hat') and in sports commentary for the fumble sense. The verb sense is chiefly American in sports contexts.
Easily confused with bobble
A bauble is a cheap showy ornament or trinket, while a bobble is either a woollen pom-pom on clothing or a physical fumble.
Wobble refers to unsteady side-to-side shaking of a thing, whereas bobble as a verb means fumbling an object or moving with short bouncing motions.