Meaning

3 senses

  1. (Australia, New Zealand, intransitive, slang)To report a person to someone in authority for a wrongdoing. (For transitive forms see dob in, dob on.)

  2. (Northern Ireland, ambitransitive, slang)To play truant.

  3. (humorous, intransitive, sometimes)In the scouting movement, to chant dob to indicate that one will do one's best to follow the scouting laws.

Origin

Uncertain. Possibly from Middle English dobben. Short for do our best. dyb (or dib) and d

Uncertain. Possibly from Middle English dobben.

Short for do our best. dyb (or dib) and dob were used as abbreviated forms of do your best and do our best in certain Scout chants.

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Forms

dobs, dobbing, dobbed, dobbed
Base formdob · to dob
3rd person singulardobs
Present participledobbing
Past simpledobbed
Past participledobbed

regular · Lesson

Present simpleLesson

I, you, we, theydob
he, she, itdobs

Past simpleLesson

all personsdobbed

Present perfectLesson

I, you, we, theyhave dobbed
he, she, ithas dobbed

Future simple (will)Lesson

all personswill dob

Phrasal verbs

2 phrasal verbs

Word family

2 related words
Deriveddob indobber

Lessons for this word

3 lessons

See also

neighbours in the dictionary
doA1doabledobsondocB1docileC1dockB2
dob — meaning, examples, forms, synonyms | Krumeto