hob

¹ American  

[hob] / hɒb /

noun

1. a projection or shelf at the back or side of a fireplace, used for keeping food warm.

2. a rounded peg or pin used as a target in quoits and similar games.

3. a game in which such a peg is used.

4. Machinery. a milling cutter for gear and sprocket teeth, splines, threads, etc., having helically arranged teeth and fed across the work as the work is rotated.

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verb (used with or without object)

hobbed, hobbing

1. Machinery. to cut with a hob.

hob ² American  

[hob] / hɒb /

noun

1. a hobgoblin or elf.

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idioms

1. raise hob, to cause a destructive commotion; behave disruptively.

   They raised such hob with their antagonistic questions that the meeting broke up.

2. play hob with, to do mischief or harm to.

   The child played hob with my radio, and now it won't work at all.

hob ¹ British  

/ hɒb /

noun

1. the flat top part of a cooking stove, or a separate flat surface, containing hotplates or burners

2. a shelf beside an open fire, for keeping kettles, etc, hot

3. a steel pattern used in forming a mould or die in cold metal

4. a hard steel rotating cutting tool used in machines for cutting gears

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verb

1. (tr) to cut or form with a hob

hob ² British  

/ hɒb /

noun

1. a hobgoblin or elf

2. a male ferret

3. informal to cause mischief or disturbance

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Other Word Forms

• hobber
  noun
• hoblike
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of hob¹

First recorded in 1505–15; variant of obsolete hub “hob (in a fireplace)”; perhaps identical with hub

Origin of hob²

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English, special use of Hob(be), for Robert or Robin

Example Sentences

Many of us can relate to oil and gas: Filling up the car, putting a pan on the hob.

From BBC • Feb. 6, 2025

The cooker hood removes particles generated from the back rings of a hob more easily than from the front rings, where more pollutants can escape into the room.

From Salon • Apr. 24, 2023

Food residue that is stuck on the hob will start to burn as soon as the hob is turned on.

From Salon • Apr. 24, 2023

It’s almost all cooked in one roasting tin in the oven, so you’ll be saving washing up and using your hob less, too.

From BBC • Oct. 18, 2022

Didn’t seem to matter—once more she took me by the hand, and this time led me to a small parlor where she had a fire going, and a kettle on the hob.

From "Code Name Verity" by Elizabeth Wein

Related Words

• gnome
• goblin
• imp
• leprechaun