wobble
Americanverb (used without object)
-
wobbles,
present (3rd person singular)
-
wobbled,
past participle, past
-
wobbling
present participle
-
to incline to one side and to the other alternately, as a wheel, top, or other rotating body when not properly balanced.
-
to move unsteadily from side to side.
The table wobbled on its uneven legs.
-
to show unsteadiness; tremble; quaver.
His voice wobbled.
-
to vacillate; waver.
verb (used with object)
-
wobbles,
present (3rd person singular)
-
wobbled,
past participle, past
-
wobbling
present participle
noun
-
wobbles
plural
verb
-
(intr) to move, rock, or sway unsteadily
-
(intr) to tremble or shake
her voice wobbled with emotion
-
(intr) to vacillate with indecision
-
(tr) to cause to wobble
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
wobblesimple
-
wobblessimple
-
have wobbledperfect
-
has wobbledperfect
-
am wobblingprogressive
-
are wobblingprogressive
-
is wobblingprogressive
-
have been wobblingperfect progressive
-
has been wobblingperfect progressive
Past
-
wobbledsimple
-
had wobbledperfect
-
was wobblingprogressive
-
were wobblingprogressive
-
had been wobblingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of wobble
1650–60; < Low German wabbeln; akin to Old Norse vafla to toddle, Middle High German wabelen to waver, Old English wæflian to speak incoherently
Explanation
When things wobble, they teeter or rock unsteadily back and forth. A brand new bike rider is bound to wobble a little bit when she's pedaling down the street. A cafe table might wobble annoyingly until you prop up one leg with folded paper. And, when you first step off an amusement park ride, your legs might wobble for a while. Your voice can wobble too, or tremble, especially when you're upset or nervous. People wobble figuratively too: "When politicians wobble on important issues, it's hard to trust them."
Vocabulary lists containing wobble
Lesson 1
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"Modern Automotive Technology," Vocabulary from Section 9
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Night Owls
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
But it has been individual traders’ recent affection for prediction markets that is extending the crypto winter even as AI stocks wobble.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 5, 2026
Even with England's wobble at the beginning of their second innings, they probably already have enough to win this match and the series.
From BBC ● Aug. 28, 2026
I close my eyes and, suddenly, my legs wobble and my ankles quiver.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026
Is this growing pains or the wobble before the fall?
From Slate ● Aug. 7, 2026
It takes me a moment to realize what I’m looking at—when I do, I wrench my eyes away and wobble forward.
From "Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen
This describes a phenomenon where a star wobbles back and forth, indicating a massive companion object is orbiting.
From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2026
When the national mood wobbles, we turn to the arts, which have the power to free buried desires, soothe souls and cross divides.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 29, 2026
Those will mark a reset of Wall Street hedging, and resulting orders hitting markets could cause sharp if short-term market wobbles, he said.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 18, 2026
Blindsides are mainstays in films like this, just as in life, and tend to be followed by emotional fractures or wobbles of faith.
From Salon ● Jun. 7, 2026
The air mattress beneath me wobbles under my weight.
From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer
The chain has experienced other problems as well, including remodels that backfired, agitation among activist investors and same-store sales that have wobbled over Masino’s three-year tenure.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 28, 2026
Stock futures wobbled at the start of trading and then rose on Sunday, and oil rose, too, amid concerns that strikes between Iran and U.S. forces could disrupt a fragile cease fire.
From Barron's ● Jun. 28, 2026
All across Europe, incumbent governments have wobbled into the face of economic headwinds and impatient electorates.
From BBC ● May 16, 2026
Coke stock wobbled for weeks on the marketing gaffe, but the company backtracked in July and its stock rose 42% that year.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 23, 2026
His voice was so loud that Nathan’s knees wobbled.
From "Healer of the Water Monster" by Brian Young
If a wobbling stock market were to threaten companies like OpenAI, Wallerstein said he believes the federal government could ride to the rescue.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 11, 2026
NASA's Lucy spacecraft recently revealed that asteroid Donaldjohanson is a wobbling, peanut-shaped object that has been shaped by collisions, sunlight, and even a brief encounter with liquid water long ago.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 25, 2026
It’s an era of natural history with striking parallels to our own — climate change, extinction, devastating fires, a wobbling balance between humans and the rest of the natural world.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 6, 2026
These have a remarkable decisiveness, an absolute authority and control, free of wobbling or any irregularity.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 27, 2026
After all that wobbling and shuffling, my stomach begs for some food.
From "The Hate U Give" by Angie Thomas
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
