Meaning & use
sobber
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Meaning
nouncountable
A person who cries noisily with short, gasping breaths.
Grammar: Countable; plural is 'sobbers'. Often used with an adjective like 'loud' or 'constant'.
Patterns
- a loud sobber
- a constant sobber
The loud sobber in the corner made it hard to concentrate.
She was a constant sobber, always in tears over something.
Word forms
| plural | sobbers |
|---|
Common combinations
- a loud sobber
- The loud sobber drew everyone's attention.
- a constant sobber
- He was a constant sobber after the sad news.
- a quiet sobber
- She was a quiet sobber, hiding her tears.
Synonyms and how they differ
- crier
- More general; a crier may cry quietly, while a sobber makes noisy, gasping sounds.
- weeper
- Slightly more formal; often suggests prolonged crying rather than the short gasps of a sobber.
Word family
Commonly confused: sobber or sober? sobber or sober?
sobber vs sober
Sober means not drunk; sobber is a person who sobs. They sound similar but have completely different meanings.
sobber vs sober
Sober is an adjective; sobber is a noun. Do not confuse the two.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'sobber' correctly?
Choose one answer.
A sobber is a person who sobs, so 'The baby was a loud sobber' fits. Option A uses 'sober' (not drunk) incorrectly; option C uses 'sober' as an adjective; option D contradicts the noisy nature of sobbing.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “sobber”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.