frob
(MIT, slang) Any small device or object (usually hand-sized) which can be manipulated.
ˈfɹɑbDocumented since 1950s1950sBoomerhistorical166 viewsLast reviewed Jun 29, 2026＋ Add a definition
Etymology timeline
Born ~1958 · no dated citations yet20th centurySee decade cohort →
Definitions
#1·Apr 27, 2026
(MIT, slang) Any small device or object (usually hand-sized) which can be manipulated.
Hand me that frob there, will you?
Origin: , from frobnitz, coined circa 1958 by David R. Sawyer of the MIT Tech Model Railroad Club (TMRC). Year of origin uncertain, and could be 1958–1981: frob is not listed in the TMRC dictionaries of 1959 or 1960, and is first listed in the Jargon File (1981 edition), so it may date from the 1960s or 1970s. Possibly variant of or influenced by a protruding arm or trunnion, which is listed in TMRC 1959 and 1960. Origin information sourced from Wiktionary contributors (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Was this helpful?
Comments
#2·Apr 27, 2026
(computing, slang, rare, transitive) To manipulate in some ill-defined way; to tweak or mess about with.
Was this helpful?
Comments
#3·Apr 27, 2026
(Silicon Valley, slang) To perform a task that is clear to the speaker but too complex or tedious to be explained, so that outside help is not helpful.
Why don't you go get lunch? I need to frob with this thing for about 30 minutes and then we'll be good to go.
Was this helpful?
Comments
Have a better definition?
Add your own interpretation of "frob".
👗About Fashion & Lifestyle slang
The aesthetic vocabulary of how people dress now — quiet luxury, coquette, mob wife, coastal grandmother, Y2K core, and every "-core" that came after.
See all Fashion & Lifestyle slang on Slangora.
Tags
Other words near "frob" (F)
Browse all slang words starting with F.