Lobbed

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To cast an object into the air at a steep angle for a gentle descent To release something in a way that ensures it follows an upward trajectory before falling down To throw an item with a soft motion allowing it to travel high and then come down gradually
2. To send an object through the air with a curved, elevated trajectory designed for a soft landing
3. To gently propel an item so it travels upward and then falls in a rounded path

Etymology: "Lobbed" is the past tense of "lob," and the verb's surprising root is an older English noun meaning a clumsy or lazy person. The sense of hurling something upward came later. "Lob" appears in Middle English around the 1300s with the meaning of a lazy, boorish fellow, and it is probably related to words for a heavy, hanging thing, the same idea behind "lubber" and "lump." Over time the notion of a dull, slow creature gave way to a sense of slow, weighty motion, and by the late 1500s "lob" was being used for dropping or letting something fall heavily. The high arc we now associate with the verb comes from that same sense of letting something drop through the air. In tennis, cricket and other games, to "lob" a ball is to loft it over an opponent's head so it descends softly behind them, which is why the meaning feels so precise and gentle today. The past tense "lobbed" simply follows the regular pattern of doubling the final consonant before "-ed," as in "stopped" and "dropped."

Synonyms: threw, cast, flung, projected, tossed

Antonyms: caught, held, received, grasped, retained