Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

womble

/wˈɑmbəl/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.91 in modern English

Syllables: womble
IPA: /wˈɑmbəl/

13

Scrabble Score

6

Letters

2

Syllables

6

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A fictional pointy-nosed furry creature. They are supposed to live in burrows, where they help the environment by collecting and recycling rubbish in creative ways.

British usage

noun

A person who emulates the fictional creatures by tidying and picking up litter.

British usage

noun

A nickname of Wimbledon Football Club.

British usage

name

noun

Alternative spelling of wamble.

verb

Alternative spelling of wamble.

noun

Alternative spelling of Womble (“fictional furry creature, person who tidies litter”).

noun

A person from the Wimbledon area of London, England.

British usage; Colloquial

Example Sentences

"Wombles are a bit like teddy bears to look at but they have real claws and live underneath Wimbledon Common and devote their lives to ‘tidying up’ all the things those untidy Human Beings leave behind."
"1974, The Wombling Song, lyrics by Mike Batt Underground, overground, wombling free / The Wombles of Wimbledon Common are we"
"2024 transitionbath.org news report about litter picking https://transitionbath.org/bath-wombles-go-wombling-along-the-river/ Bath Wombles go wombling along the river"

Etymology

Created by author Elisabeth Beresford; they originally appeared in a series of children's novels from 1968. The name was suggested to the author by her young daughter's mispronunciation of the place name "Wimbledon" as "Wombledon" https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/culture-obituaries/tv-radio-obituaries/8226039/Elisabeth-Beresford.htmlhttps://www.tidybag.uk/people/interview-with-elisabeth-beresford-daughter/. The books centre on the activities of a group of the creatures who live on Wimbledon Common.

Usage

British usage
Colloquial

Subject

Wiktionary places this term in Sports.

Inflected Forms

Wombles (plural) Wamble (alternative) wombles (present, singular) wombling (participle, present) wombled (participle, past) wombled (past)

Derived Forms

wombler

Rhymes With

ensemble wamble

Questions

How do you pronounce womble?: The recorded pronunciation is /wˈɑmbəl/.
What does womble mean?: A fictional pointy-nosed furry creature. They are supposed to live in burrows, where they help the environment by collecting and recycling rubbish in creative ways.
Where does womble come from?: Created by author Elisabeth Beresford; they originally appeared in a series of children's novels from 1968. The name was suggested to the author by her young daughter's mispronunciation of the place name "Wimbledon" as "Wombledon" https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/culture-obituaries/tv-radio-obituaries/8226039/Elisabeth-Beresford.htmlhttps://www.tidybag.uk/people/interview-with-elisabeth-beresford-daughter/. The books centre on the activities of a group of the creatures who live on Wimbledon Common.

How to pronounce womble

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