English Explanatory Dictionary

hobo

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. A wandering homeless person, especially (historical) one illegally travelling by rail or (derogatory) a penniless, unemployed bum.
  2. Any migratory laborer, whether homeless or not.
  3. A kind of large handbag.
verb
  1. To be a hobo, tramp, bum etc.

Pronunciation

hō'bō /ˈhəʊ.bəʊ/ LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-hobo.wav /ˈhoʊ.boʊ/ /ˈhəʉ.bəʉ/

Word forms

hobo hobos hoboes hoboing hoboed

Etymology

Unknown. Possibly a contraction of ho, boy or the dialectal English term hawbuck (“lout, clumsy fellow, country bumpkin”).

Derived words

hobo bag hobodom hobo egg hoboglyph hobohemia hobohemian hoboish hoboism hobo jungle hobolike hobosexual hobo spider hobo stew hobo stove laptop hobo murderhobo
This entry uses open data from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA/GFDL). Word forms are used for search and are not indexed as separate pages.
Back to search All on H Russian dictionary Dahl dictionary