phubbing

P3H4U1B3B3I1N1G2

noun

The act of ignoring a conversation going on around oneself to focus on one's mobile phone.

Scrabble 18

Meanings

verb
  1. gerundparticiplepresentpresent participle and gerund of phub
nounphubbing (plural phubbings)

plural phubbings

  1. The act of ignoring a conversation going on around oneself to focus on one's mobile phone.

    Phubbing, which is the term for snubbing someone you're face to face with by looking at or using your phone, is a big source of conflict.

    2014, Barbara Pachter, The Power of Positive Confrontation, →ISBN
    1 more example

    Current studies suggest that contextual factors indeed play a role in the extent to which phubbing is harmful. With respect to situation formality, for example, people report being more tolerant of their partner's phubbing behavior in casual settings, such as at home in front of the TV, than in formal settings, such as restaurants, […]

    2020, Rich Ling et al., editors, The Oxford Handbook of Mobile Communication and Society, Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 168

Origin

Translations

Norwegian Bokmål phubbing
  • phubbingact of ignoring a conversation going on around oneself to focus on one's mobile phone
Spanish ningufoneo
  • ningufoneoact of ignoring a conversation going on around oneself to focus on one's mobile phone
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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