TOP

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

pastime

noun
 
/ˈpɑːstaɪm/
 
/ˈpæstaɪm/
jump to other results
  1. something that you enjoy doing when you are not working synonym hobby
    • Watching television is still the most popular national pastime.
    • Fishing is an enjoyable pastime for people of all ages.
    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
    Topics Hobbiesc1
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective
    • enjoyable
    • pleasurable
    • favourite/​favorite
    • …
    verb + pastime
    • enjoy
    • indulge in
    • pursue
    • …
    preposition
    • pastime among
    • pastime for
    See full entry
    Word Originlate 15th cent.: from the verb pass (verb) + time, translating French passe-temps.
See pastime in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary
Check pronunciation: pastime

Nearby words

trait
noun
 
 
From the Word list
Oxford 5000
B2
Oxford Learner's Dictionaries Word of the Day