hob

¹ American  

[hob] / hɒb /

noun

1. a projection or shelf at the back or side of a fireplace, used for keeping food warm.

2. a rounded peg or pin used as a target in quoits and similar games.

3. a game in which such a peg is used.

4. Machinery. a milling cutter for gear and sprocket teeth, splines, threads, etc., having helically arranged teeth and fed across the work as the work is rotated.

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verb (used with or without object)

hobbed, hobbing

1. Machinery. to cut with a hob.

hob ² American  

[hob] / hɒb /

noun

1. a hobgoblin or elf.

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idioms

1. raise hob, to cause a destructive commotion; behave disruptively.

   They raised such hob with their antagonistic questions that the meeting broke up.

2. play hob with, to do mischief or harm to.

   The child played hob with my radio, and now it won't work at all.

hob ¹ British  

/ hɒb /

noun

1. the flat top part of a cooking stove, or a separate flat surface, containing hotplates or burners

2. a shelf beside an open fire, for keeping kettles, etc, hot

3. a steel pattern used in forming a mould or die in cold metal

4. a hard steel rotating cutting tool used in machines for cutting gears

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verb

1. (tr) to cut or form with a hob

hob ² British  

/ hɒb /

noun

1. a hobgoblin or elf

2. a male ferret

3. informal to cause mischief or disturbance

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Other Word Forms

• hobber
  noun
• hoblike
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of hob¹

First recorded in 1505–15; variant of obsolete hub “hob (in a fireplace)”; perhaps identical with hub

Origin of hob²

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English, special use of Hob(be), for Robert or Robin

Example Sentences

Last year, the local government council installed a plaque outside the Hob Inn that outlines the community’s relationship with the soldiers, the violence and its aftermath.

From Seattle Times • Jun. 24, 2023

Senate Public Health Committee Chairman Hob Bryan, a Democrat from Amory, wrote the legislation that created the coordinator position and said he believes Rosamond is qualified.

From Washington Times • Oct. 25, 2020

Residents told the BBC they had gathered to help a family after the blaze on Hob Moor Road and Monica Road on Tuesday.

From BBC • May 27, 2020

Hob Broun was edited by Gordon Lish in the 1980s.

From Salon • Sep. 7, 2013

On the way home, we swing by the Hob, the black market that operates in an abandoned warehouse that once held coal.

From "The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins

Related Words

• gnome
• goblin
• imp
• leprechaun