hob
/hɑb/noun, verb
hob is spelled H-O-B: 3 letters and one syllable. It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 38,863rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, hob means “A kind of cutting tool, used to cut the teeth of a gear” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of hob is hobs.
How many letters and syllables are in hob?
| Letters | 3: H-O-B |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 38,863rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with | |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is hob?
Hob appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 38,863rd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce hob?
- US /hɑb/
- UK /hɒb/
Hob has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: EN-AU_ck1_hob.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with hob?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as hob from its last stressed vowel (/ɑb/):
Spelled with the same letters in another order: boh.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of hob
- hobs plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- hobbing participle, present
- hobbed participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does hob mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A kind of cutting tool, used to cut the teeth of a gear.
- 2
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, a
- 3
CommonwealthIrelandUKThe top cooking surface on a cooker. It typically comprises several cooking elements (often four), usually called rings.
- 4
A rounded peg used as a target in several games, especially in quoits.
- 5
A male ferret.
- 6
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.
- 7
obsoleteA fairy; a sprite; an elf; a bogey.
- 8
obsoleteA countryman; a rustic or yokel.
verb
- 1
To create (a gear) by cutting with a hob.
- 2
To engage in the process of cutting gears with a hob.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Hob in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | armure , plan de cuisson |
| German | Fräser, Fräskopf , (cooktop) Herdplatte, (hotplate) Kochfeld, Kochplatte |
| Spanish | placa de cocción, encimera de cocina |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does hob come from?
Related to hub, but the ultimate origin of both words is obscure.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).