Meaning & use
blobs
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“blobs” is a form of “blob”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meanings
nounplural
Plural of blob: small, soft lumps or drops of a thick substance with no clear shape.
Grammar: Plural of the countable noun blob: blobs of paint.
Patterns
- blobs of something
She dropped blobs of cookie dough onto the baking tray.
There were blobs of paint all over the floor.
The soup had blobs of cream floating on top.
nounplural
Plural of blob: indistinct shapes, as seen from far away or on a screen.
Grammar: Often used with 'of' or with adjectives of color: dark blobs.
Patterns
- blobs on something
From the plane, the islands looked like green blobs in the ocean.
The scan showed dark blobs that the doctor needed to check.
Without my glasses, people are just colorful blobs.
verbtransitiveinformalBritish
Third person singular of blob, an informal British verb meaning to put or drop small amounts of something thick onto a surface.
Grammar: Takes an object: he blobs glue on the page.
Patterns
- blob something on something
She blobs cream onto each slice of cake.
He blobs glue on the corner of every card.
Word forms
| singular | blob |
|---|---|
| third person singular | blobs |
| past tense | blobbed |
| -ing form | blobbing |
Common combinations
- blobs of paint
- The artist flicked blobs of paint across the canvas.
- blobs of cream
- Blobs of cream decorated the dessert.
- dark blobs
- We saw dark blobs moving in the distance.
- shapeless blobs
- The clay turned into shapeless blobs in her hands.
- colorful blobs
- The lamp made colorful blobs float up and down.
Synonyms and how they differ
- dollops
- Dollops are generous, round servings of food, whereas blobs can be messy and uneven.
- globs
- Globs suggests larger, stickier masses, and blobs is more general.
- splotches
- Splotches are irregular marks or stains, while blobs usually have some thickness.
- drops
- Drops are small liquid beads, but blobs are thicker and less neatly formed.
Word family
Commonly confused: blobs or globs? blobs or blobs?
blobs vs globs
Globs are thick, sticky lumps and often larger; blobs are small and can be dry or wet.
blobs vs blobs
This is a common typo; the correct spelling has two b's separated by an o only once: blobs.
Practice
The toddler dropped ______ of mashed potato on the table.
Choose one answer.
Blobs of mashed potato fits a soft shapeless lump. 'Blocks' would suggest firm squares, and the other options are not valid nouns here.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “blobs”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.