Word.ws English Dictionary

toby

/ˈtəʊbi/US/ˈtoʊbi/

toby noun: a drinking mug, in the shape of a human head with a hat atop; a Toby jug.

Noun (1)

toby (plural tobies)

  1. A drinking mug, in the shape of a human head with a hat atop; a Toby jug.
  2. (New Zealand, UK) The valve that mediates the connection between a mains water-supply and a premises's own plumbing.
  3. (UK, dated, slang) The road or highway.
    • It is no wonder that itinerant agricultural workers travel on the toby and sleep in casual wards between jobs.1931 October 17, Eric Blair, “Hop-picking”, in The New Statesman
  4. (US, dated, regional) A kind of inferior cigar of a long slender shape, tapered at one end.
  5. The Moorish idol, Zanclus cornutus
  6. Any of several species of pufferfish in the genus Canthigaster

Proper noun capitalized: Toby

Toby (plural Tobys)

  1. A male given name from Hebrew.
    • By my troth, Sir Toby, you must come in earlier o' nights: your cousin, my lady, takes great exceptions to your ill hours.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...
    • And for my own part, said my uncle Toby, though I should blush to boast of myself, Trim - yet had my name been Alexander, I could have done no more at Namur than my duty.1761, [Laurence Sterne], chapter 18, in The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman, volume IV, London: […] R[obert] and J[ames] Dodsley […], →OCLC
  2. (rare) A female given name from Hebrew.
  3. A surname originating as a patronymic.
  4. (UK) in the traditional Punch and Judy show the showman's (live) dog trained to take part in the puppet show and to carry a bag around the audience soliciting donations.

Noun (2) capitalized: Toby

Toby

  1. The superintendent of a street market.
    • The Boy shakes his head and the Toby comes on to the market wielding a claw hammer.2006, David Eldridge, Market Boy, →ISBN, page 29
    • But every market was reputed to be run the same way. The Toby was the godfather.2010, Howard Jacobson, The Mighty Walzer, →ISBN, page 82

toby meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu

toby in Hindi

टोबी, टॉबी, तोबी

toby in Tamil

பொம்மைக் குடுவை

toby in Marathi

टोबी, टॉबी

toby in Urdu

رہزنی
More languagesFewer languages
toby in Bengali
টোবি, টবি
toby in Telugu
టోబి, టోబీ
toby in Malayalam
ടോബി
toby in Kannada
ಟೋಬಿ, ಟೊಬಿ
toby in Punjabi
ਟੋਬੀ, ਟੌਬੀ
toby in Gujarati
ટોબી, તોબી
toby in Odia
ଟୋବି, ଟବି
toby in Nepali
टोबी, टोबि

Forms of toby

Noun
pluraltobies
Proper noun
pluralTobys

Origin of toby

The Middle English vernacular form of Tobias.

Borrowed from Shelta toba (“the road”).

Words formed from toby

Phrases with toby

Words that rhyme with toby

Questions about toby

What does toby mean?
Toby means a drinking mug, in the shape of a human head with a hat atop; a Toby jug.
What is toby in Hindi?
Toby in Hindi is टोबी, टॉबी, तोबी. See Toby meaning in Hindi.
What part of speech is toby?
Toby can be a noun or a proper noun.
How do you pronounce toby?
Toby is pronounced /ˈtəʊbi/ (UK).
What is the plural of toby?
The plural of toby is tobies.

Words near toby in the dictionary

  1. tobruk
  2. tobruks
  3. Tobson
  4. TOBT
  5. tobuterol
  6. toby
  7. toby box
  8. toby boxes
  9. Toby collar
  10. Toby Fillpot
  11. Toby Fillpot jug

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: toby (page history and authors); Toby (page history and authors); toby (Hindi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); toby (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); toby (Marathi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); toby (Urdu Wiktionary) (page history and authors); toby (Bengali, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); toby (Telugu, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); toby (Malayalam, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); toby (Kannada, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); toby (Punjabi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); toby (Gujarati, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); toby (Odia, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); toby (Nepali, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license). 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)-Vealhurl-Toby.wav.

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