nobbling

Verb

nobble (third-person singular simple present nobbles, present participle nobbling, simple past and past participle nobbled)

1. (Commonwealth, Ireland, UK, slang, transitive) To injure or obstruct intentionally.
   • Near-synonyms: hobble, hamper, hinder, impede, embarrass, disable

   Synonyms:

   hobble, hamper, hinder, impede, embarrass, disable

2. (Ireland, UK, slang, transitive) To gain influence over by corrupt means or intimidation.
   • Unlike "noble" vigilantes, the police and court facilities which exist are said to be inefficient and corrupt, and juries are said to be easily "nobbled" or intimidated.2000, Italo Pardo, Morals of Legitimacy: Between Agency and System, page 122
3. (Ireland, UK, slang, transitive) To steal.
4. (slang, transitive) To tamper with (typically a racehorse or greyhound) in order to prevent it from winning a race.
   • Every design that villainy could suggest was had recourse to in the hopes of nobbling Wild Dayrell; but never being left for an hour by either his trainer or jockey, he escaped the intended 'coopering', even when the lynchpins of the wheels of his van had been tampered with.1864, Baily's Magazine of Sports & Pastimes, volume 8, page 110

   Synonyms:

   cooper

See all 5 meanings of nobble