hob
UK/hɒb/US/hɑb/
hob noun: a kind of cutting tool, used to cut the teeth of a gear.
Noun (1)
hob (plural hobs)
- A kind of cutting tool, used to cut the teeth of a gear.
- The flat projection or iron shelf at the side of a fire grate, where things are put to be kept warm.
- They went into a dingy room lined with books and littered with papers, where there was a blazing fire. A kettle steamed upon the hob, and in the midst of the wreck of papers a table shone, with plenty of wine upon it, and brandy, and rum, and sugar, and lemons.1898, Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities, Book the Second, Chapter V (The Jackal)
- The top cooking surface on a cooker. It typically comprises several cooking elements (often four), usually called rings.
- And the first sound in the house was the bang, bang of the poker against the raker, as Morel smashed the remainder of the coal to make the kettle, which was filled and left on the hob, finally boil.1913, D[avid] H[erbert] Lawrence, chapter 2, in Sons and Lovers, London: Duckworth & Co. […], →OCLC
- A rounded peg used as a target in several games, especially in quoits.
- A male ferret.
- Synonyms:
- hob-ferret
- The hub of a wheel.
- August 31 1776, George Washington, letter to the President of Congress
the wheels of the carriages sinking up to the hobs rendered it impossible for our whole force to drag them.
- August 31 1776, George Washington, letter to the President of Congress
Verb
hob (third-person singular simple present hobs, present participle hobbing, simple past and past participle hobbed)
- To create (a gear) by cutting with a hob.
- To engage in the process of cutting gears with a hob.
Noun (2)
hob (plural hobs)
- A fairy; a sprite; an elf; a bogey.
- From elves, hobs, and fairies, […] Defend us, good Heaven!1610–1616, John Fletcher, “Monsieur Thomas. A Comedy.”, in Comedies and Tragedies […], London: […] Humphrey Robinson, […], and for Humphrey Moseley […], published 1647, →OCLC, Act IV, scene vi
- A countryman; a rustic or yokel.
- More fitter for the Country Hobs.1682, Langley Curtis, New News from Bedlam
- Synonyms:
- bogger, bogtrotter, boor, bucolic, bydlo, culchie, carl, churl, corncob, cornhusker
Proper noun capitalized: Hob
Hob
- A diminutive of the male given names Robert and Robin.
- A nickname for Robin Goodfellow, Puck; (later) the devil
- A surname originating as a patronymic.
hob meaning in Marathi and Urdu
hob in Marathi
- cooking surface
- शेगडी śegḍī, गॅस gĕs, चूल cūl
hob in Urdu
- بھونڈا, دیہاتی, غیرمہذب, کھونٹی
Synonyms of hob
23 more synonymsFewer synonyms
Forms of hob
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | hobs |
| Verb | |
| third-person singular present | hobs |
| present participle | hobbing |
| past participle | hobbed |
| past | hobbed |
Origin of hob
Related to hub, but the ultimate origin of both words is obscure.
From Middle English Hob (a diminutive of Robin, an Old French [Term?] diminutive of Robert), through its connection with Robin Goodfellow and (later) the devil. Compare hobgoblin; see robin.
From a medieval diminutive form of the given name Robin, and separately as a French diminutive of Robert.
Words formed from hob
Phrases with hob
Words that rhyme with hob
Questions about hob
- What does hob mean?
- Hob means a kind of cutting tool, used to cut the teeth of a gear.
- What is hob in Marathi?
- Hob in Marathi is शेगडी (śegḍī), गॅस (gĕs), चूल (cūl). See Hob meaning in Marathi.
- What part of speech is hob?
- Hob can be a noun, a verb or a proper noun.
- How do you pronounce hob?
- Hob is pronounced /hɑb/ (US).
- What is the plural of hob?
- The plural of hob is hobs.
Words near hob in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: hob (page history and authors); Hob (page history and authors); hob (Urdu Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: EN-AU ck1 hob.ogg.
Cite this entry: “hob.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/hob. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.