hobo
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hobo
- /ˈhəʊ.bəʊ/ UK
- /ˈhoʊ.boʊ/ US
- /ˈhəʉ.bəʉ/ Australia
Rhymes with -əʊbəʊ
Where it comes from
Unknown. Possibly a contraction of ho, boy or the dialectal English term hawbuck (“lout, clumsy fellow, country bumpkin”).
noun hobos · hoboes
- A wandering homeless person, especially (historical) one illegally travelling by rail or (derogatory) a penniless, unemployed bum. He’d heard the word hobo used for travelers, heard it was short for homeward bound, or homeless boy, or Hoboken having something to do with New Jersey.
- Any migratory laborer, whether homeless or not.
- A kind of large handbag. Avoid bulky styles such as duffle sacks, buckets, doctors' satchels, and hobos.
verb hobos · hoboing · hoboed
- To be a hobo, tramp, bum etc. Joe idly hoboed through half the country till he realized hoboing never gets you anywhere in life.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: tramp, bum, bindlestiff, homeless, homelessness, beggar, vagrant, vagabond, stray, drifter, derelict, yahoo, sundowner, transient, ernie, hoboe
Translations
Every language
noun homeless person
| Español | vagabundo, atorrante, torrante, bichicome (despective) |
|---|---|
| Português | mendigo, mendiga |
| Français | vagabond, clochard, clodo |
| Deutsch | Obdachloser |
| Italiano | senzatetto |
| Română | vagabond, boschetar |
| Русский | бомж bomž, бездо́мный bezdómnyj |
noun tramp, vagabond; bum
| Español | vagabundo, atorrante, torrante, guitón |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | ルンペン runpen |
| Português | vagabundo, vagabunda |
| Deutsch | Vagabund |
| Italiano | vagabondo |
| Română | vagabond, vagabondă, derbedeu, hoinar |
| Русский | бродяга brodjaga |
noun migratory worker
| Português | sazonal |
|---|---|
| Français | saisonnier |
| Română | sezonier, sezonieră |
Talk about this word "hobo." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/hobo. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. hobo. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/hobo "hobo." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/hobo.Cite this
@misc{hobo_2026,
title = {hobo},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/hobo},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
