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.
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
For many of the men, golf has become a rediscovered hobby.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 16, 2026
By 2024, my hobby was starting to feel like work, and it was only a matter of time before the sport degenerated enough to make it official.
From Slate • Jun. 14, 2026
Most of the boys swore that watching the Washington Redskins on TV was their favorite hobby.
From "Bridge to Terabithia" by Katherine Paterson
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.
