Word.ws English Dictionary

hobnob

Syllables: hob·nobUK/ˈhɒbnɒb/US/ˈhɑbˌnɑb/

hobnob noun: a toast made while touching glasses together.

Noun

hobnob (plural hobnobs)

  1. (obsolete) A toast made while touching glasses together.
    • With a hob-nob, and a merry go-round, / We'll pull in ere reason fail; / For the stoutest man in the kingdom found, / Must knock under to humming ale.1823, Jon Bee [pseudonym; John Badcock], “Hob-nob”, in Slang. A Dictionary of the Turf, the Ring, the Chase, the Pit, of Bon-ton, and the Varieties of Life, Forming the Completest and Most Authentic...
    • A prologue of cherry bounce,—brandy,—preceded the entertainment, which was enlivened by hob-nobs and joyous toasts.1870 May, “Irish Life”, in The Saint Pauls Magazine, volume VI, London: Strahan & Co., publishers, 56, Ludgate Hill, →OCLC, page 203
  2. A drinking together.
  3. An informal chat.
    • The three friends had a hobnob outside the bar.
    • The American people are largely under the influence of animal magnetism. Whether they are drawn to the levée of a Tom Thumb or to a hobnob with the Russians, the safety-valves of their joyous feelings are sure to be opened when the Stars and Stripes flaunt over their churches, public buildings, and...1865, [James Dawson Burn], “The Cities of America—New York”, in Three Years among the Working-classes in the United States during the War, London: Smith, Elder and Co., 65, Cornhill, →OCLC, page 117

Verb

hobnob (third-person singular simple present hobnobs, present participle hobnobbing, simple past and past participle hobnobbed)

  1. (intransitive) To drink together.
    • Many a glass of wine have we all of us drank, I have very little doubt, hob-and-nobbing with the hospitable giver, and wondering how the deuce he paid for it.[1847 January – 1848 July, William Makepeace Thackeray, “How to Live Well on Nothing a-Year”, in Vanity Fair […], London: Bradbury and Evans […], published 1848, →OCLC, page 322
    • When the dinner was a little forward, and time for wine came, the Emperor fills his own cup—fills the Empress's—fills St. Martin [of Tours]'s,—affectionately hobnobs with St. Martin. […] St. Martin looks round, first, deliberately;—becomes aware of a tatterdemalion and thirsty-looking soul of a...1884, John Ruskin, “By the Rivers of Waters”, in “Our Fathers Have Told Us.”: Sketches of the History of Christendom for Boys and Girls who have been Held at Its Fonts, part I (The Bible of Amiens)...
  2. (derogatory, intransitive, often) To associate with in a friendly manner, often with those of a higher class or status; to fraternize.
    • The ambitious young student hobnobbed with the faculty at the prestigious college he hoped to attend.
    • His favorite spot in the club was the bar, where he could hobnob with the big-wigs.
  3. (intransitive, obsolete, rare) To have or have not; to give or take.
    • He is knight dubb'd with vnhatche'd Rapier, and on carpet conſideration, but he is a diuell in priuate brall, soules and bodies hath he diuorc'd three, and his incenſement at this moment is ſo implacable, that ſatisfaction can be none, but by pangs of death and ſepulcher: Hob, nob, is his word...c. 1601–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “Twelfe Night, or What You Will”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and...
  4. (intransitive, obsolete) To toast one another by touching glasses.
    • I have frequently heard one gentleman, in company, say to another, will you hob-nob with me? When this challenge was accepted, the glasses were instantly filled, and then they made the glasses touch or kiss each other. This gentle striking of the drinking vessels I always supposed explained the...1828, [William Carr], “[A Glossary of the Craven Dialect.] HOB-NOB”, in The Dialect of Craven, in the West-riding of the County of York, with a Copious Glossary, Illustrated by Authorities from...

Adjective

hobnob (not comparable)

  1. On friendly terms; in friendly association.

Adverb

hobnob (not comparable)

  1. (obsolete) At random; at a venture; hit and miss.
    • The Citizens in their rage, imagining that euery poſt in the Churche had bin one of yᵉ Souldyers, ſhot habbe or nabbe at randon^([sic – meaning random]) uppe to the Roode lofte, and to the Chancell, leauing ſome of theyr arrowes ſticking in the Images.[1577, Raphaell Holinshed; Richarde Stanyhurst [i.e., Richard Stanihurst], “[The Historie of Irelande […].] The Thirde Booke of the Historie of Ireland, Comprising the Raigne of Henry the Eyght: ….”...

hobnob meaning in Tamil, Bengali, Malayalam and Kannada

hobnob in Tamil

குலாவு, கூடியிரு, அளவளாவு

hobnob in Bengali

ঘনিষ্ঠভাবে মেলামেশা করা, একত্রে পানাহার করা

hobnob in Malayalam

fraternize, associate, mix
മിത്രങ്ങളായിരിക്കുക, അടുത്തിടപഴകുക, അനൗപചാരികമായികൂട്ടുകൂടുക, ഒന്നിച്ചിരുന്ന് ഉല്ലസിക്കുക, കൂട്ടുകൂടുക, ഇടപഴകുക

hobnob in Kannada

ಸ್ನೇಹ ಬೆಳೆಸು, ಸಲಿಗೆ ಬೆಳೆಸು, ಸಲಿಗೆಯಿಂದಿರು, ಜತೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಮದ್ಯಪಾನ ಮಾಡು

Examples of hobnob in a sentence

  • Martin [of Tours]'s,—affectionately hobnobs with St.1884, John Ruskin, “By the Rivers of Waters”, in “Our Fathers Have Told Us.”: Sketches of the History of Christendom for Boys and Girls who...
  • I do not need or desire to hobnob artificially with other old men in order to revisit them in their salad days, and to renew my own.1952 May, George Santayana, “I Like to Be a Stranger”, in The Atlantic:
  • [A] club that has earned the right to aspire to hobnobbing with European competitors could find itself brawling against relegation.2017 October 14, Paul Doyle, “Mauricio Pellegrino yet to find attacking solution for stuttering Southampton: Nothing so far this season...
  • He met President Biden and embarked on a 21-city global tour, hobnobbing with leaders like Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India.2023 December 9, Tripp Mickle, Cade Metz, Mike Isaac, Karen Weise, “Inside OpenAI’s Crisis Over the Future of Artificial Intelligence”, in...

Synonyms of hobnob

Forms of hobnob

Noun
pluralhobnobs
Verb
third-person singular presenthobnobs
present participlehobnobbing
past participlehobnobbed
pasthobnobbed
alternative formhob-nob
alternative form (archaic)hob-and-nob

Origin of hobnob

From hob and nob, hob or nob (“a phrase spoken when making a toast, possibly meaning ‘give and take’; to take turns toasting or buying rounds of drinks”) (archaic), from dialectal hab nab (“to have or have not, in the sense of an invitation to have a drink”), from Old English habban (“to have, possess”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kap- (“to grab, seize”)) + nabban (“to not have”) (from ne (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *né (“not”)) + habban).

Words formed from hobnob

Questions about hobnob

What does hobnob mean?
Hobnob means a toast made while touching glasses together.
What is hobnob in Tamil?
Hobnob in Tamil is குலாவு, கூடியிரு, அளவளாவு. See Hobnob meaning in Tamil.
How do you use hobnob in a sentence?
Martin [of Tours]'s,—affectionately hobnobs with St.
What part of speech is hobnob?
Hobnob can be a noun, a verb, an adjective or an adverb.
How do you pronounce hobnob?
Hobnob is pronounced /ˈhɒbnɒb/ (UK).
What is the plural of hobnob?
The plural of hobnob is hobnobs.

Words near hobnob in the dictionary

  1. hobnailed
  2. hobnailer
  3. hobnailers
  4. hobnailing
  5. hobnails
  6. hobnob
  7. hobnobbed
  8. hobnobber
  9. hobnobbers
  10. hobnobbery
  11. hobnobbing

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: hobnob (page history and authors); hobnob (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); Hobnob (Bengali Wiktionary) (page history and authors); hobnob (Olam, E.K. Kurup corpus) (dataset and license); hobnob (Kannada 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.

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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-au-hobnob.ogg.

Cite this entry: “hobnob.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/hobnob. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.