Sob

How to spell sob

3 letters · 1 syllable

How to pronounce sob

What does sob mean?

1. verbTo cry noisily, drawing in breath in short, convulsive gasps.
2. nounA single convulsive gasp made while crying.

Sob in a sentence

• verb

  She began to sob quietly when she read the letter.

• noun

  A single sob escaped her before she composed herself.

• verb

  He tried not to sob during the farewell speech.

• noun

  His voice broke into a quiet sob as he finished the story.

Where does sob come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

Sob first appears in Middle English as 'sobben', meaning to catch the breath in grief or to weep with short, convulsive gasps. It is widely treated as an imitative or echoic word, one coined to mimic the actual sound of a person gulping air while crying, much like 'gasp' or 'gulp'. Scholars connect it to related forms in the early Germanic languages, including the Dutch 'sabben' and dialect words for sucking in or slobbering, all sharing the idea of a sudden intake of breath. The spelling has stayed remarkably plain since the medieval period, which makes it one of the easier emotional verbs to write. Because the word so closely echoes the sound it names, its three simple letters have never needed dressing up with silent letters or unusual vowels.

How the word is built

• sob (imitative root for a convulsive, gasping cry; no prefix or suffix)