hobby
/ˈhɑ.bi/noun
hobby is spelled H-O-B-B-Y: 5 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 8.7 times per million words in written English, the 7,797th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data, counting Hobby, the name). As a noun, hobby means “An activity that one enjoys doing in one's spare time” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of hobby is hobbies.
How many letters and syllables are in hobby?
| Letters | 5: H-O-B-B-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 8.7 times per million words; the 7,797th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
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 hobby?
Hobby appears 8.7 times per million words in written English, the 7,797th most frequent word form in the list. The list counts every capitalisation together, so this includes Hobby, the name.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce hobby?
- UK /ˈhɒ.bi/
- US /ˈhɑ.bi/
Hobby has 2 syllables (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: LL-Q1860_(eng)-I_learned_some_phrases-hobby.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with hobby?
6 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as hobby from its last stressed vowel (/ɑbi/):
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 hobby
- hobbies plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does hobby mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
An activity that one enjoys doing in one's spare time.
I like to collect stamps from different countries as a hobby.
- 2
An extinct breed of horse native to the British Isles, also known as the Irish Hobby.
- 3
Synonym of hobby horse (“a favorite topic”).
- 4
Painting and building miniatures (as opposed to playing the game)
I'm more into the competitive part than the hobby part of this game.
- 5
Any of four species of small falcons in the genus Falco, especially Falco subbuteo.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Hobby in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | passe-temps, hobby , hobereau |
| German | Hobby, Steckenpferd , Baumfalke |
| Portuguese | passatempo, hobby , ógea |
| Spanish | afición, hobby, jobi , alcotán |
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 hobby come from?
From Middle English hoby (“small horse, pony”), a variant or alteration of hobyn (“a small ambling horse”), of uncertain and disputed origin. According to one theory the term is derived from Hobin, a pet name of Robert or Robin, at the time frequently used as a proper name for a workhorse (compare dobbin).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).