Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

looby

/lˈubi/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.67 in modern English

Syllables: loo-by
IPA: /lˈubi/

10

Scrabble Score

5

Letters

2

Syllables

4

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A large and awkward or clumsy person; an oaf.

Archaic

name

A surname from Irish.

Example Sentences

"‘Depend upon it, Sir, a savage, when he is hungry, will not carry about with him a looby of nine years old, who cannot help himself.’"
"Thus while I tell the truth about loobies, my reader's imagination need not be entirely excluded from an occupation with lords […]."

Etymology

Uncertain. Perhaps from lob (“a large piece, lump”) + -y.

Origin

Source language: Irish

Word Breakdown

Root: Ó Lúbaigh

Usage

Archaic

Inflected Forms

loobies (plural) Loobys (plural)

Derived Forms

loobily

Homonyms

luby

Rhymes With

ruby scooby booby newby rubi duby luby hruby truby 2b newbie doobie

Questions

How do you pronounce looby?: The recorded pronunciation is /lˈubi/.
What does looby mean?: A large and awkward or clumsy person; an oaf.
Where does looby come from?: It is traced to Irish.

How to pronounce looby

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “looby”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/lˈubi/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “looby”.
Repeat and practice — Say “looby” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.