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toby

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toby¹

noun tobies

  1. A drinking mug, in the shape of a human head with a hat atop; a Toby jug.
  2. New Zealand, UK The valve that mediates the connection between a mains water-supply and a premises's own plumbing.
  3. UK, dated, slang The road or highway. It is no wonder that itinerant agricultural workers travel on the toby and sleep in casual wards between jobs.
  4. US, dated, regional A kind of inferior cigar of a long slender shape, tapered at one end.
  5. The Moorish idol, Zanclus cornutus
  6. Any of several species of pufferfish in the genus Canthigaster

Toby²

  • /ˈtəʊbi/ UK
  • /ˈtoʊbi/ US

Rhymes with -əʊbi

Where it comes from

The Middle English vernacular form of Tobias.

proper noun Tobys

  1. A male given name from Hebrew. By my troth, Sir Toby, you must come in earlier o' nights: your cousin, my lady, takes great exceptions to your ill hours.
  2. rare A female given name from Hebrew.
  3. A surname originating as a patronymic.
  4. UK in the traditional Punch and Judy show the showman's (live) dog trained to take part in the puppet show and to carry a bag around the audience soliciting donations.

Toby³

  • /ˈtəʊbi/ UK
  • /ˈtoʊbi/ US

Rhymes with -əʊbi

Where it comes from

Borrowed from Shelta toba (“the road”).

noun

  1. The superintendent of a street market. The Boy shakes his head and the Toby comes on to the market wielding a claw hammer.

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: toby jug, topi, bobby, mendel, spigot, valve, stopcock, faucet, tap, cock, bibcock, shutoff, gate valve, water valve, service valve, cut-off

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MLA

"toby." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/toby. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

toby. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/toby

Chicago

"toby." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/toby.

BibTeX
@misc{toby_2026,
  title = {toby},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/toby},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}