Word.ws English Dictionary

obs

obs is the abbreviation of obsolete.

obs is the clipping of observed.

obs is the plural of ob.

Noun (1)

obs (uncountable)

  1. (slang) Police observation.
    • But I now knew I was under obs by the Gardai as well as by GMP.2017, Jimmy Donnelly, Jimmy The Weed: Inside the Quality Street Gang
    • Had you under obs for three weeks.2018, Paige Elizabeth Turner, Clock Face of Ills
    Synonyms:
    obbo
  2. An observation hut.

Meaning of obsolete

Adjective

obsolete (comparative more obsolete, superlative most obsolete)

  1. (usually, equipment) No longer in use or no longer useful; now disused or neglected (often in favour of something newer, better, or more fashionable); outmoded.
    • Speedy, worldwide, accessible delivery of news through the Web has made newspapers obsolete.
  2. Imperfectly developed; not very distinct.
    • These two birds somewhat closely resemble each other, but the Sedge Warbler is russet-brown above, the feathers with dark centres, the pale buff eyestripe is very clearly defined, and the underparts are buffish white; the Reed Warbler is more olive on the upper parts, the feathers having no dark...1891, Charles Dixon, The Birds of Our Rambles: With a Companion for the Country, page 130

See all 4 meanings of obsolete

Meaning of observed

Adjective

observed

  1. Exceptionally celebrated on a date other than the usual date.
    • Sunday, July 1: Canada Day; Monday, July 2: Canada Day observed.

Noun (2)

obs pl (plural only)

  1. (plural, plural-only) Observation(s) (blood pressure, temperature, etc).

Noun (3) capitalized: OBS

OBS

  1. (abbreviation, initialism) Initialism of organizational breakdown structure.

Noun (4) capitalized: OBs

OBs

  1. (plural) plural of OB

Adjective capitalized: Obs

Obs

  1. (alternative) Alternative form of obs (obsolete)

Synonyms of obs

Questions about obs

What does obs mean?
Obs means police observation.
What is obs the abbreviation of?
Obs is the abbreviation of obsolete.
What part of speech is obs?
Obs can be a noun or an adjective.

Words near obs in the dictionary

  1. Obrovac
  2. OBRs
  3. obruption
  4. obrution
  5. obrutions
  6. obs
  7. obs and gynae
  8. obs.
  9. obsagittate
  10. obscene
  11. obscenely

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: obs (page history and authors); OBS (page history and authors); OBs (page history and authors); Obs (page history and authors); obsolete (page history and authors); observed (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Cite this entry: “obs.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/obs. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.