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Definition of hobby noun from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

hobby

noun
 
 
/ˈhɒbi/
 
/ˈhɑːbi/
(plural hobbies)
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  1. an activity that you do for pleasure when you are not working
    • Do you have any hobbies?
    • Her hobbies include swimming and gardening.
    • Why don't you take up a new hobby?
    • My favourite hobby is definitely scuba diving.
    • as a hobby I only play jazz as a hobby.
    Synonyms interestinteresthobby ▪ game ▪ pastimeThese are all words for activities that you do for pleasure in your spare time.interest an activity or a subject that you do or study for pleasure in your spare time:
    • Her main interests are music and gardening.
    hobby an activity that you do for pleasure in your spare time:
    • His hobbies include swimming and cooking.
    game a children’s activity when they play with toys, pretend to be somebody else, etc.; an activity that you do to have fun:
    • a game of cops and robbers
    • He was playing games with the dog.
    pastime an activity that people do for pleasure in their spare time:
    • Fishing is a popular pastime.
     interest, hobby or pastime?A hobby is often more active than an interest: His main hobby is football (= he plays football). • His main interest is football (= he watches and reads about football, and may or may not play it). Pastime is used when talking about people in general; when you are talking about yourself or an individual person it is more usual to use interest or hobby: Fishing is a popular pastime. • Do you have any pastimes? Patterns
    • a popular interest/​hobby/​pastime
    • to have/​share interests/​hobbies
    • to take up/​pursue a(n) interest/​hobby
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    Extra Examples
    • Cooking is her pet hobby.
    • Cycling and karate are among her hobbies.
    • He collects postcards as a hobby.
    • Photography can be an expensive hobby.
    • She never had any time to pursue her hobbies.
    • He wanted to turn his hobby into a business.
    • They spent their retirement enjoying hobbies and taking trips.
    Topics Hobbiesa1
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective
    • enjoyable
    • fun
    • interesting
    • …
    verb + hobby
    • have
    • enjoy
    • indulge
    • …
    preposition
    • among your hobbies
    • as a hobby
    See full entry
    Word Originlate Middle English hobyn, hoby, from pet forms of the given name Robin. Originally referring to a small horse or pony, it later came to denote a toy horse or hobby horse, hence ‘an activity done for pleasure’.
See hobby in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary
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trait
noun
 
 
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