What does fobbed mean?
"Fobbed" is the past tense and past participle of the verb "to fob," a word that today survives almost entirely inside one phrase: "fobbed off." To be fobbed off is to be quietly got rid of — offered an excuse, a form letter, or a token gesture in place of the real answer or remedy you sought. Closely related is the sense of palming something inferior on someone as though it were genuine, as when a buyer is fobbed off with a counterfeit or shoddy substitute. Both uses carry a distinctly negative connotation of deception and dismissiveness, which is why the word appears so often in complaints about poor customer service. The expression is markedly more at home in British English than American English, where alternatives such as "brushed off" or "the runaround" dominate. Its brevity and punch make it a useful addition to any vocabulary of everyday injustice.
verb (past participle / past tense)Past form of the verb "fob": chiefly used in the phrase "fobbed off," meaning to be dismissed, deceived, or palmed off with something inferior or an inadequate excuse instead of what was rightfully expected.
- To dismiss or deceive someone by putting them off with excuses or evasions (almost always in "fobbed off").
- To palm off something inferior, spurious, or unwanted on someone as if it were genuine or acceptable (in "fobbed off with/on").
"When he complained about the faulty phone, the shop simply fobbed him off with a store credit."
"The airline fobbed her off with a form letter instead of compensation for the cancelled flight."
"He realised the antique dealer had fobbed him off with a modern reproduction."
If you've ever been handed a voucher instead of a refund, you've been well and truly fobbed off.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of fobbed
The verb derives from "fob," first recorded in English in the mid-17th century. Its earlier history is uncertain: scholars have proposed a connection with the German dialect word "Fuppe," meaning a purse or pouch, which may relate to the older sense of "fob" as a small watch pocket on trousers. From the pocket association came the figurative use — hiding or slipping something away — which developed into "fob off": deceiving someone or dismissing them with an inadequate substitute. The exact chain of development remains debated, so the origin is best described generally as 17th-century English of uncertain ultimate derivation.
Related word forms
How fobbed is actually used
Almost never used except in combination with "off." The register is informal-to-neutral, and the connotation is negative: it implies evasion, deception, or shabby treatment. Far more common in British English than American English, where phrases like "brushed off" or "given the runaround" are preferred.
Easily confused with fobbed
"Fibbed" means told a small, trivial lie, while "fobbed" means dismissed or palmed someone off with an excuse or inferior substitute — despite their similar spelling and rhyme.