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hob

1
[ hob ]
/ hɒb /
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noun
a projection or shelf at the back or side of a fireplace, used for keeping food warm.
a rounded peg or pin used as a target in quoits and similar games.
a game in which such a peg is used.
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.
verb (used with or without object), hobbed, hob·bing.
Machinery. to cut with a hob.
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Origin of hob

1
First recorded in 1505–15; variant of obsolete hub “hob (in a fireplace)”; perhaps identical with hub

OTHER WORDS FROM hob

hob·ber, noun

Other definitions for hob (2 of 2)

hob2
[ hob ]
/ hɒb /

noun
a hobgoblin or elf.

Origin of hob

2
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English, special use of Hob(be), for Robert or Robin

OTHER WORDS FROM hob

hob·like, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use hob in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for hob (1 of 2)

hob1
/ (hɒb) /

noun
British the flat top part of a cooking stove, or a separate flat surface, containing hotplates or burners
a shelf beside an open fire, for keeping kettles, etc, hot
a steel pattern used in forming a mould or die in cold metal
a hard steel rotating cutting tool used in machines for cutting gears
verb hobs, hobbing or hobbed
(tr) to cut or form with a hob

Word Origin for hob

C16: variant of obsolete hubbe, of unknown origin; perhaps related to hub

British Dictionary definitions for hob (2 of 2)

hob2
/ (hɒb) /

noun
a hobgoblin or elf
a male ferret
raise hob or play hob US informal to cause mischief or disturbance

Derived forms of hob

hoblike, adjective

Word Origin for hob

C14: variant of Rob, short for Robin or Robert
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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