Library / English Dictionary

WOBBLE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

An unsteady rocking motion

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural events

Hypernyms ("wobble" is a kind of...):

motion; movement (a natural event that involves a change in the position or location of something)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "wobble"):

shimmy (an abnormal wobble in a motor vehicle (especially in the front wheels))

Derivation:

wobble (move unsteadily)

wobble (move sideways or in an unsteady way)

wobbly (inclined to shake as from weakness or defect)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Move unsteadily

Example:

The old cart wobbled down the street

Synonyms:

coggle; wobble

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Hypernyms (to "wobble" is one way to...):

move (move so as to change position, perform a nontranslational motion)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Somebody ----s

Derivation:

wobble (an unsteady rocking motion)

wobbler (something that wobbles)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Tremble or shake

Example:

His voice wobbled with restrained emotion

Synonyms:

shimmy; wobble

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Hypernyms (to "wobble" is one way to...):

vibrate (shake, quiver, or throb; move back and forth rapidly, usually in an uncontrolled manner)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s

Sense 3

Meaning:

Move sideways or in an unsteady way

Example:

The ship careened out of control

Synonyms:

careen; shift; tilt; wobble

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Hypernyms (to "wobble" is one way to...):

move (move so as to change position, perform a nontranslational motion)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Something is ----ing PP
Somebody ----s PP

Derivation:

wobble (an unsteady rocking motion)

wobbler (something that wobbles)

Credits

 Context examples: 

Researchers found the magnitude of the moon's very slight wobble, as it orbits Saturn, can only be accounted for if its outer ice shell is not frozen solid to its interior, meaning a global ocean must be present.

(Cassini Finds Global Ocean in Saturn's Moon Enceladus, NASA)

This is consistent with a planet and moon orbiting a common center of gravity that would cause the planet to wobble from its predicted location, much the way Earth wobbles as our Moon orbits it.

(Astronomers Find First Evidence of Possible Moon Outside Our Solar System, NASA)

The other four men glued their eyes on their plates and chewed steadily and with thoughtful precision, their ears moving and wobbling, in time with their jaws, like the ears of so many animals.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

This slight deviation causes the point on Mimas' surface that faces Saturn to vary a bit over the course of an orbit — an observer on Saturn would see Mimas wobble slightly during its orbit, causing small amounts of terrain over the limb to become visible.

(Saturn Moon May Hide a 'Fossil' Core or an Ocean, NASA)