slobber

slobber — verb

IPA/ˈslɒbə(r)/
KK[slˈɑbɚ]IPA/ˈslɑːbər/
  • slobberpresent simple I / you / we / they
  • slobbershe / she / it
  • slobberedpast simple
  • slobbering-ing form

1. to have wet saliva, or bits of food mixed with it, fall messily from your mouth,

1.verbintransitiveC1
Definition

to have wet saliva, or bits of food mixed with it, fall messily from your mouth, usually without meaning to

Example

The big brown dog slobbered all over Anong's clean jeans.

slobber all over [something]: messy saliva on a surface

The baby slobbered on the wooden spoon while learning to feed himself.

slobber on [something]: saliva dripping onto an object

Common collocations
  • slobber all over
  • slobber on the floor
  • slobber down one's chin
Synonyms
  • drool

    very close in meaning; the everyday word, slightly less messy-sounding

  • dribble

    more about a thin line of saliva than a wet mess

  • slaver

    rarer and more literary; same idea of saliva running out

Grammar Patterns

slobber over [something]

slobber on [something]

Usage Note

Subject is usually a baby, a dog, or another animal; using it of a healthy adult sounds rude or comic. Often followed by 'on' or 'all over' plus the wet surface.

Common Mistakes

The dog slobbered the carpet.
The dog slobbered on the carpet.
slobber is intransitive here, so it needs 'on' or 'all over' before the surface.

slobber — noun

IPA/ˈslɒb.ər/
KK[slˈɑbɚ]IPA/ˈslɑː.bɚ/

Word family

  • slobbery
    adjectiveC2

Synonym discussion

Sense: verb/1

All four words describe saliva running out of a mouth, but they differ in tone and amount. 'Drool' is the everyday, neutral choice: a baby or a sleeping person drools. 'Slobber' sounds messier and wetter, and it usually suggests a lot of saliva, often from an excited dog; saying a person slobbers can sound rude or funny. 'Dribble' points to a thin line or small trickle rather than a big mess, so a baby dribbles a little milk. 'Slaver' is rare and rather literary, describing saliva hanging from the mouth of an animal. For example, the dog slobbered on the visitor's coat, while the baby only dribbled a bit of milk down its chin.

slobber ↗drool ↗dribble ↗slaver

Common collocations

Nouns

  • dog slobber
  • baby slobber

Adverbs

  • slobber messily
  • slobber happily

Phrases

  • a string of slobber
  • covered in slobber

Prepositions

  • slobber on
  • slobber over
  • slobber all over

Etymology

Middle DutchMiddle EnglishEnglish

Slobber goes back to a Middle English word 'slobberen', meaning to feed or eat in a messy, wet way. It is linked to similar Dutch and Low German words for muddy, sloppy mess, and shares the soft 'sl-' sound found in many English words about wetness and sliminess, such as 'slush', 'slime', and 'slop'.