hobo

[hoh-boh]

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noun, plural ho·bos, ho·boes.

a tramp or vagrant.

a migratory worker.

Origin of hobo

An Americanism dating back to 1885–90; origin uncertain

Related formsho·bo·ism, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for hobo

tramp, wanderer, drifter, beggar, vagrant, transient, wino, bum, vagabond, derelict

Examples from the Web for hobo

Historical Examples of hobo

The point is that not one of the eight was really Hobo Harry.
A Woman at Bay
Nicholas Carter
They think only that she is Hobo Harry's wife, or sister, or sweetheart, or something like that.
A Woman at Bay
Nicholas Carter
I had been readin' the papers, and I had seen a lot about Hobo Harry in 'em.
A Woman at Bay
Nicholas Carter
Hobo miners, the most expert of their craft, and begging their grub on the trail!
Silver and Gold
Dane Coolidge
Hobo keenly felt the responsibility of the family he had adopted.
Peggy Raymond's Vacation
Harriet L. (Harriet Lummis) Smith

British Dictionary definitions for hobo

hobo

noun plural -bos or -boes mainly US and Canadian

a tramp; vagrant

a migratory worker, esp an unskilled labourer

Derived Formshoboism, noun

Word Origin for hobo

C19 (US): origin unknown

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

Word Origin and History for hobo

1889, Western U.S., of unknown origin. Barnhart compares early 19c. English dialectal hawbuck "lout, clumsy fellow, country bumpkin." Or possibly from ho, boy, a workers' call on late 19c. western U.S. railroads. Facetious formation hobohemia, "community or life of hobos," is from 1923 (see bohemian).