Definitions

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun Apiece; a lump: a big lump.
  • noun A large heavy taw or marble.
  • noun The cork or float of a fishing-line.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun (Zoöl.) See dabchick.
  • noun Local, U. S. A float to a fishing line.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun US A tool used to play bingo; a dauber.
  • noun UK, derogatory A member of the working class in Scotland who is seen as undereducated, with poor taste, especially in clothes, and poor social skills. Closely related to the English chav.
  • noun Australia, derogatory One who dobs (informs against or implicates to authority).
  • noun UK, informal Any small electronic device that plugs directly into a larger one, such as a wireless scoring system in fencing or a USB mass storage device.
  • noun UK A large marble.
  • noun US, regional A float (as used by an angler).
  • noun A dabchick.

Etymologies

Sorry, no etymologies found.

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word dobber.

Examples

  • Nearly 60,000 people contacted the tax office to accuse someone of fraud in 2008-09, suggesting the only thing Australians hate more than a dobber is a cheat.

    AustralianIT.com.au | Top Stories 2009

  • Nearly 60,000 people contacted the Tax Office to accuse someone of fraud in 2008-09, suggesting the only thing Australians hate more than a dobber is a cheat.

    AustralianIT.com.au | Top Stories 2009

  • Nearly 60,000 people contacted the Tax Office to accuse someone of fraud in 2008-09, suggesting the only thing Australians hate more than a dobber is a cheat.

    NEWS.com.au | Top Stories 2009

  • Nearly 60,000 people contacted the Tax Office to accuse someone of fraud in 2008-09, suggesting the only thing Australians hate more than a dobber is a cheat.

    NEWS.com.au | Top Stories 2009

  • Nearly 60,000 people contacted the Tax Office to accuse someone of fraud in 2008-09, suggesting the only thing Australians hate more than a dobber is a cheat.

    AustralianIT.com.au | Top Stories 2009

  • Coleman turned down the next aisle and over his shoulder said, Keep your dobber up.

    Extreme Measures Vince Flynn 2009

  • J.B. Arrington said dirt dobber insects are building their nests inside barns rather than outside to stay warm for the winter.

    Harsh winter predictions 2005

  • J.B. Arrington said dirt dobber insects are building their nests inside barns rather than outside to stay warm for the winter.

    Archive 2005-12-01 2005

  • And then from there they moved on to the next section where they used a dobber.

    CNN Transcript Jul 30, 2005 2005

  • It belonged to her and she drove it regularly to go play cards and bingo I even found an ink dobber under the seat once.

    “Das Boot” | Letter Never Sent 2004

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.

  • Australian slang. One who dobs someone in by reporting their misdemeanour(s) to an authority – an especially heinous act if it gets one's friends into trouble. ("No one likes a dobber.") Think: to grass, to squeal, to finger.

    September 8, 2008

  • Yikes. 6 meanings here that were unfamiliar to me.

    April 22, 2011