# hobo

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈhəʊ.bəʊ/ · frequency rank #26,114

## Definitions
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.

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

## Easily confused with
- **how** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hobo-vs-how)
- **hot** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hobo-vs-hot)
- **hop** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hobo-vs-hop)
- **hub** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hobo-vs-hub)
- **hon** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hobo-vs-hon)
- **hog** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hobo-vs-hog)
- **hoo** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hobo-vs-hoo)
- **hoe** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hobo-vs-hoe)
- **hof** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hobo-vs-hof)
- **Hou** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hobo-vs-hou)
- **hoy** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hobo-vs-hoy)
- **hos** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hobo-vs-hos)
- **hoh** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hobo-vs-hoh)
- **hoi** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hobo-vs-hoi)
- **Hom** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hobo-vs-hom)
- **hor** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hobo-vs-hor)
- **HOV** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hobo-vs-hov)
- **hod** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hobo-vs-hod)
- **home** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hobo-vs-home)
- **hope** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hobo-vs-hope)

## Common misspellings (5)
`hboo`, `hhobo`, `hobbo`, `hoob`, `ohbo`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/hobo