an activity or interest pursued for pleasure or relaxation and not as a main occupation.
Her hobbies include stamp-collecting and woodcarving.
a child's hobbyhorse.
Archaic. a small horse.
an activity pursued in spare time for pleasure or relaxation
archaic a small horse or pony
short for hobbyhorse
an early form of bicycle, without pedals
First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English hoby(n), probably from Robin, or Robert ( cf. hob 2), used as horse's name, as in dobbin
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English hoby, from Middle French hobé, variant of Middle French, Old French hobel (compare French hobereau ), probably noun derivative of hobeler “to skirmish, harass,” perhaps from Middle Dutch hob(b)elen “to turn, roll”; compare Dutch hobbelen “to rock, jolt” ( cf. hobble)
A hobby is an activity that you do in your spare time for fun. Your hobby may be putting together model train sets and driving your mom crazy from all the noise. In the 13th century the word hobby referred to a small horse or a pony. It later came to describe a toy horse — a hobbyhorse. It’s from the hobbyhorse that the word’s modern sense of “favorite pastime” evolved. A hobby is something that you do for fun — not money — and you typically do it fairly regularly. Collecting stamps, growing roses, reading — any of these can be hobbies.
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
It’s a big hobby, pin trading, that I picked up in 2023.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 10, 2026
When Weinberg talks about fly fishing, he speaks of it less as a single hobby than a constellation of interests, where each angler finds their own corner to obsess over.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 5, 2026
If not, you’re better off pursuing that as a hobby, instead of as full-time work.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 22, 2026
Lead lecturer Hugo Cousin, 25, says the course is designed to bridge the gap between a hobby and a professional career.
From BBC ● Jun. 22, 2026
I could treat campaigning like a hobby, picking it up when it was convenient, having some fun with it, and then getting back to my own work.
From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama
Polling from the Hobby School of Public Affairs at the University of Houston also found that Republican primary voters see both candidates as equally strong for the general election context.
From Salon ● May 20, 2026
National deployment officers from the TSA were deployed to Houston’s Hobby Airport on March 10, and they continue to assist with staffing shortages as of Friday afternoon, an airport spokesperson confirmed.
From MarketWatch ● Mar. 20, 2026
“At Houston’s Hobby Airport,” the network reported, “53% of officers called out on March 8, with 47% calling out the following day.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 15, 2026
For Hobby Works, a chain of two toy stores in Maryland, pressure from tariff costs and whiplash on economic policy this year has been compounded in recent weeks by the federal government shutdown.
From BBC ● Nov. 26, 2025
“I know this view. That drainage ditch...This is my mom’s old neighborhood, where she grew up. Hobby Airport is over that way.”
From "The Mark of Athena" by Rick Riordan
It’s a way to bond with co-workers, much like chatting about other shared hobbies or the latest World Cup game.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 2026
The AI assistant can recommend people looking for a serious relationship, someone with common hobbies or even above a certain height or age.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 28, 2026
My spouse, age 60, recently retired to spend more time with family and pursue her hobbies.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 15, 2026
After completing the initial four month training period, about half continued practicing their instrument for more than three years, while the others stopped and pursued different hobbies instead.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 13, 2026
He asked what grade I was in, what sort of hobbies I enjoyed, did I own a dog or a cat—the usual stuff.
From "Flush" by Carl Hiaasen
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
