cob

noun

ˈkäb 

1

[perhaps short for cobswan lead swan] : a male swan

2

a

dialectal, England : a rounded mass, lump, or heap

b

: a mixture of unburned clay and straw used especially for constructing walls of small houses in England

3

: a crudely struck old Spanish coin of irregular shape

—often used before another noun

a cob dollar

4

: corncob sense 1

5

: a stocky short-legged riding horse

Examples of cob in a Sentence

She used a knife to cut the corn from the cob.

We had corn on the cob.

Recent Examples on the Web

Kids were on shucking duty, while the adults were in charge of cutting the corn off the cob. —Kaitlyn Yarborough, Southern Living, 11 Apr. 2025

Serves 4 Time 1 hour Corn Mexican Recipes Recipes by Cuisine Recipes by Ingredient Ingredients 3 ears field corn, or sweet corn, kernels cut from the cobs, cobs halved crosswise, divided Kosher salt 1 large bunch fresh chipilín leaves (8 oz.), stemmed, or 6 oz. —Claudia Sántiz, Saveur, 26 Feb. 2025

On their menus: seafood bake, grilled street corn on the cob, coconut water, dips with chips, meat and cheese plates, a trio of sparkling cocktails and s’mores. —Dewayne Bevil, Orlando Sentinel, 5 Mar. 2025

To freeze kernels of corn, remove the corn kernels from the cob. —Karla Walsh, Better Homes & Gardens, 30 July 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English cobbe leader of a group, head; probably akin to cub (young animal), Middle English kebbe old cow or sheep, Dutch dialect kabbe, kebbe piglet

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing cob

• corn on the cob
• Welsh cob

Rhymes for cob

• blob
• bob
• daub
• fob
• glob
• gob
• hob
• job
• knob
• lob
• mob
• rob

Kids Definition

cob

noun

ˈkäb 

1

: a male swan

2

: corncob

3

: a short-legged stocky horse