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• hobby
  hobby

  noun

  an activity or interest pursued for pleasure or relaxation and not as a main occupation.
• Hobby
  Hobby

  noun

  Oveta Culp 1905–1995, U.S. newspaper publisher and government official: first director of Women's Army Corps 1942–45; first Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare 1953–55.

hobby

¹ American  

[hob-ee] / ˈhɒb i /

noun

• hobbies
  plural

1. an activity or interest pursued for pleasure or relaxation and not as a main occupation.

   Her hobbies include stamp-collecting and woodcarving.

2. a child's hobbyhorse.

3. Archaic. a small horse.

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idioms

1. ride a hobby, to concern oneself excessively with a favorite notion or activity. Also ride a hobbyhorse.

hobby ² American  

[hob-ee] / ˈhɒb i /

noun

• hobbies
  plural

1. a small Old World falcon, Falco subbuteo, formerly flown at such small game as larks.

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Hobby ³ American  

[hob-ee] / ˈhɒb i /

noun

1. Oveta Culp 1905–1995, U.S. newspaper publisher and government official: first director of Women's Army Corps 1942–45; first Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare 1953–55.

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hobby ¹ British  

/ ˈhɒbɪ /

noun

1. an activity pursued in spare time for pleasure or relaxation

2. archaic a small horse or pony

3. short for hobbyhorse

4. an early form of bicycle, without pedals

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hobby ² British  

/ ˈhɒbɪ /

noun

1. any of several small Old World falcons, esp the European Falco subbuteo, formerly used in falconry

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• hobbyist
  noun
• hobbyless
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• hobbies
  plural

Etymology

Origin of hobby¹

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

Origin of hobby²

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)

Explanation

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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

hobby Hobby hobbies

Backyard bird feeding may seem like a harmless hobby.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 24, 2026

Enthusiastic message boards, blogs dedicated to any niche you could find in any hobby, news and culture websites as renowned for sharp commenters as their stable of writers.

From Salon ● Aug. 23, 2026

That’s like my hobby because there are not many chances in L.A. that you get to drive across bridges of that magnitude.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026

Photos and images relating to her hobby as a long-time mushroom forager - and supporting their argument that the deaths were a tragic accident - had been wrongly excluded, the defence says.

From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026

But studying them had become almost like a hobby.

From "Schooled" by Gordon Korman

"Hobby spending is a small amount of overall retail sales, but it's a good gauge of whether consumers have any money leftover in their budgets."

From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 2026

The soccer-themed balloons in the lobby and over the small lobby bar reminded me of the ones you pick up at Hobby Lobby before a kids’ end-of-season party.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 16, 2026

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

Kerri Atherton, from the British Toy and Hobby Association, said she was concerned that substandard toys from overseas, which would fail strict UK toy safety regulations, were making their way into the UK market.

From BBC ● Apr. 15, 2026

At the press conference announcing the grant, reporters had to ask Wilbur Hobby, head of the state union, to repeat what he said the money would be used for.

From "The Best of Enemies" by Osha Gray Davidson

Listing hobbies and interests was fairly common until the mid-2010s, when recruiters told candidates to remove any references to noncore skills amid efforts to reduce bias in hiring, said King.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026

Are there any expensive hobbies or interests that you need to consider?

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 19, 2026

All the parents say they carefully selected anonymous donors based on information such as their medical history, appearance, personality, education and hobbies.

From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026

But you should avoid oversharing, for instance including the specifics of your holiday plans, or boasting about things like second homes or expensive hobbies.

From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026

I then imagined a onetoothed truck driver picking me up and asking me about my friends and hobbies.

From "Where Things Come Back" by John Corey Whaley

Related Words

• amusement
• art
• avocation
• craft
• diversion
• fad
• fun
• obsession
• specialty
• sport