gobstopper

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UK/ˈɡɒbˌstɒp.ə(ɹ)/

noun

A type of hard long-lasting candy, usually spherical in shape.

Scrabble 17

Meanings

noungobstopper (plural gobstoppers)

plural gobstoppers · alternative gob stopper · alternative gob-stopper

  1. IrelandUKA type of hard long-lasting candy, usually spherical in shape.

    Hence, gobstopper—something that stops the mouth. If you want to stop someone from prattling on, simply stuff a gobstopper in his or her mouth. The Everlasting Gobstopper, a jawbreaker that changes colors and flavors, was the brainchild of Roald Dahl in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory in 1964.

    2014, Richard W. Hartel, AnnaKate Hartel, Candy Bites: The Science of Sweets, Springer, →ISBN, page 183
    1 more example

    “Everlasting Gobstoppers!”’ cried Mr. Wonka proudly. “They're completely new! I am inventing them for children who are given very little pocket money. You can put an Everlasting Gobstopper in your mouth and you can suck it and suck it and suck it and suck it and suck it and it will never get any smaller!”

    1964, Roald Dahl, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, New York: A. A. Knopf, page 95

    Synonyms: jawbreaker, niggerball

Synonyms & antonyms

nounA type of hard long-lasting candy, usually spherical in shape.

Also see

Origin

Cite this entry
APA

gobstopper. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/gobstopper

MLA

“gobstopper.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/gobstopper. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “gobstopper,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/gobstopper.

Source: gobstopper on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.