Hobson's choice
Syllables: Hob·son’s choiceUK/ˌhɒbs(ə)nz ˈt͡ʃɔɪs//ˌhɑbsənz ˈt͡ʃɔɪs/
Hobson's choice noun: a situation where a person is presented with the illusion of a free choice, but in reality there is only one option available: accepting the offer or having nothing at all.
Noun
Hobson's choice (plural Hobson's choices)
- A situation where a person is presented with the illusion of a free choice, but in reality there is only one option available: accepting the offer or having nothing at all.
- A man is ſaid to have Hobſons choice given him, vvhen he muſt either take vvhat is left him, or chooſe vvhether he vvill have any part or no.[1670, J[ohn] R[ay], “Proverbial Phrases and Forms of Speech that are Not Entire Sentences. [Hobsons Choice.]”, in A Collection of English Proverbs […], Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: […] John Hayes...
- Several other marriages took place, the scarcity of subjects making it somewhat hazardous to delay: when Hobson's choice is placed before one, deliberation is of no great use.1847, [James Fenimore Cooper], chapter VIII, in The Crater; or, Vulcan’s Peak. A Tale of the Pacific. […], volume II, New York, N.Y.: Burgess, Stringer & Co., →OCLC, pages 116–117
- Synonyms:
- nonchoice
- A choice between several undesirable options; Sophie's choice.
- Synonyms:
- Catch-22, dilemma, Morton's fork, no-win situation, quandary, Sophie's choice
- The voice.
- He's claiming copyright on his hobson's. / I beg your pardon. / His hobson's choice—his voice.1959, Ray Galton, Alan Simpson, Hancock’s Half Hour, season 6; quoted in “Hobson’s (choice) n.”, in Green’s Dictionary of Slang, 2026
- Synonyms:
- Hobson's
Hobson's choice meaning in Arabic and Indonesian
Hobson's choice in Arabic
- situation where a person is presented with the illusion of a free choice, but must either accept the offer or having nothing at all
- خيار هوبسون
Hobson's choice in Indonesian
- situation where a person is presented with the illusion of a free choice, but must either accept the offer or having nothing at all
- pilihan Hobson
Examples of Hobson's choice in a sentence
- In other words, they might go to the devil and starve—Hobson's choice!—for all the other factories were owned by men who offered no better terms.1883 (date written; published 1884), George Bernard Shaw, chapter V, in An Unsocial Socialist, London: Swan Sonnenschein, Lowrey & Co....
- Such Hobson's choices are the stuff of high drama, but unfortunately for poor, lovely Lebanon it is a tragedy that never seems to end.2011 January 13, Lawrence Wright, “Lebanon’s Tragic Hero”, in The New Yorker, New York, N.Y.: Condé Nast Publications, →ISSN, →OCLC...
- "Hobson's Choice." He was still stroking Radar, long glides of his hand from nape to tail.2022, Stephen King, chapter 8, in Fairy Tale […], New York, N.Y.: Scribner, →ISBN, page 132:
Synonyms of Hobson's choice
- nonchoice
- Catch-22
- dilemma
- Morton's fork
- no-win situation
- quandary
- Sophie's choice
- Hobson's
Forms of Hobson's choice
| plural | Hobson's choices |
|---|
Origin of Hobson's choice
From Hobson + -’s + choice, widely claimed to have been named after Thomas Hobson (c. 1544–1631) of Cambridge, England, who rented horses and had an extensive stable, but is said to have required each customer to take the horse in the stall closest to the door, to prevent the best horses from always being chosen and becoming overused. The Oxford English Dictionary also suggests an alternative etymology based on a 1607 work, The Pleasant Conceites of Old Hobson, which refers to one William Hobson (died 1581), a haberdasher from London, who is said to have been unable to recognize his own horse, and so had the habit of waiting at stables until other people had claimed their horses as the one remaining had to be his. This story is most likely fictional as it is identical to one entitled “Of the Two Yong Men that Rode to Walsingham” in Mery Tales and Quick Answeres (1530).
Words that rhyme with Hobson's choice
Questions about Hobson's choice
- What does Hobson's choice mean?
- Hobson's choice means a situation where a person is presented with the illusion of a free choice, but in reality there is only one option available: accepting the offer or having nothing at all.
- What is Hobson's choice in Arabic?
- Hobson's choice in Arabic is خيار هوبسون. See Hobson's choice meaning in Arabic.
- How do you use Hobson's choice in a sentence?
- In other words, they might go to the devil and starve—Hobson's choice!—for all the other factories were owned by men who offered no better terms.
- What part of speech is Hobson's choice?
- Hobson's choice is a noun.
- How do you pronounce Hobson's choice?
- Hobson's choice is pronounced /ˌhɒbs(ə)nz ˈt͡ʃɔɪs/ (UK).
- What is the plural of Hobson's choice?
- The plural of Hobson's choice is Hobson's choices.
Words near Hobson's choice in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: Hobson's choice (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: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Naomi Persephone Amethyst (NaomiAmethyst)-Hobson's choice.wav.
Cite this entry: “Hobson's choice.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/hobson%27s_choice. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.