hobo
/ˈhoʊ.boʊ/noun, verb
hobo is spelled H-O-B-O: 4 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 1.2 times per million words in written English, the 26,092nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, hobo means “A wandering homeless person, especially (historical) one illegally travelling by rail or (derogatory) a penniless, unemployed bum” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of hobo is hobos or hoboes.
How many letters and syllables are in hobo?
| Letters | 4: H-O-B-O |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.2 times per million words; the 26,092nd 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 hobo?
Hobo appears 1.2 times per million words in written English, the 26,092nd 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 hobo?
- UK /ˈhəʊ.bəʊ/
- US /ˈhoʊ.boʊ/
- Australia /ˈhəʉ.bəʉ/
Hobo 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)-Vealhurl-hobo.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with hobo?
6 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as hobo from its last stressed vowel (/oʊboʊ/):
Spelled with the same letters in another order: boho.
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 hobo
- hobos plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- hoboes plural
- hoboing participle, present
- hoboed participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does hobo mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
CanadaUSA wandering homeless person, especially (historical) one illegally travelling by rail or (derogatory) a penniless, unemployed bum.
- 2
CanadaUSAny migratory laborer, whether homeless or not.
- 3
A kind of large handbag.
verb
- 1
To be a hobo, tramp, bum etc.
Joe idly hoboed through half the country till he realized hoboing never gets you anywhere in life.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Hobo in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | vagabond, clochard, clodo , saisonnier |
| German | Obdachloser , Vagabund |
| Portuguese | mendigo, mendiga , sazonal , vagabundo, vagabunda |
| Spanish | vagabundo, atorrante, torrante, bichicome (despective) |
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 hobo come from?
Unknown. Possibly a contraction of ho, boy or the dialectal English term hawbuck (“lout, clumsy fellow, country bumpkin”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).