hobbit

American  

[hob-it] / ˈhɒb ɪt /

noun

• hobbits
  plural

1. a member of a race of imaginary creatures related to and resembling humans, living in underground holes and characterized by their good nature, diminutive size, and hairy feet.

2. a nickname for Homo floresiensis.

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hobbit British  

/ ˈhɒbɪt /

noun

1. one of an imaginary race of half-size people living in holes

2. a nickname used for a very small type of primitive human, Homo floresiensis , following the discovery of remains of eight such people on the Island of Flores, Indonesia, in 2004

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• hobbitry
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• hobbits
  plural

Etymology

Origin of hobbit

1937; coined by J. R. R. Tolkien in his fantasy novel “The Hobbit”

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

hobbit hobbits

Mock, who reread The Lord of the Rings every year from fourth grade through ninth grade, has simpler dreams: “a hobbit hole out in the countryside, and as little as possible.”

From Slate ● May 28, 2026

IGLOO, S. D.—Row upon row of concrete bunkers with steel blast doors peek up from the rolling grasslands—like hobbit holes for the apocalypse.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 26, 2026

Nicknamed the hobbit because of its small stature, the species challenged long-standing ideas about human evolution.

From Science Daily ● Feb. 19, 2026

Astin, known for portraying Frodo’s loyal hobbit friend, Samwise Gamgee, in the Peter Jackson-directed fantasy trilogy, now finds himself headed to a different kind of stage.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 12, 2025

‘Then take it,’ said the other, ‘and let’s hold it ourselfs! Then we shall be master, gollum! Make the other hobbit, the nasty suspicious hobbit, make him crawl, yes, gollum!’

From "The Two Towers" by J. R. R. Tolkien

Fellow hobbits “Sam, Merry and Pippin set out to retrace the first steps of their adventure” while a new generation seeks to unearth a “long-buried secret.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 25, 2026

Colbert is planning to adapt chapters three to eight of The Fellowship of the Ring, in which Frodo and his fellow hobbits begin their epic quest.

From BBC ● Mar. 25, 2026

However, Homo sapiens were moving through the Indonesian archipelago around the same time the hobbits disappeared.

From Science Daily ● Feb. 19, 2026

But the three in the back had better be hobbits.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 11, 2025

Do you know how much I would have had to explain about hobbits and lembas bread and wizards who hold your cheeks in their hands and pour love into you?

From "Everything Sad Is Untrue" by Daniel Nayeri