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

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

How To Serve Boiled Corn on the Cob Corn on the cob purists will just add a little salt and butter and call it a day. —Jill Schildhouse, Southern Living, 13 June 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