hobo

See also: hóbo

English

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

enPR: hō'bō

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈhəʊ.bəʊ/

  • Audio (Southern England):

    (file)

• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈhoʊ.boʊ/
• (General Australian) IPA^(key): /ˈhəʉ.bəʉ/
• Rhymes: -əʊbəʊ

Noun

hobo (plural hobos or hoboes)

1. (Canada, US) A wandering homeless person, especially (historical) one illegally travelling by rail or (derogatory) a penniless, unemployed bum.
   • 2024, Tommy Orange, Wandering Stars, Harvill Secker, page 55:

     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.

2. (Canada, US) Any migratory laborer, whether homeless or not.
3. A kind of large handbag.
   • 1989, Susan Ludwig, Janice Steinberg, Petite Style, page 46:

     Avoid bulky styles such as duffle sacks, buckets, doctors' satchels, and hobos.

Usage notes

• Often used attributively, as if an adjective. For example, "hobo stew", "he was leading a hobo life."
• Although informal usage considers hobo synonymous with bum, self-proclaimed hobos sometimes distinguish themselves as migrant workers rather than unemployed bums.

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:vagabond

Derived terms

• hobo bag
• hobodom
• hobo egg
• hoboglyph
• hobohemia
• hobohemian
• hoboish
• hoboism
• hobo jungle
• hobolike
• hobosexual
• hobo spider
• hobo stew
• hobo stove
• laptop hobo
• murderhobo

Translations

homeless person

• Bulgarian: бездомник (bg) m (bezdomnik)
• Catalan: rodamón (ca) m or f
• Dutch: dakloze (nl) m, zwerver (nl) m, vagebond (nl) m, landloper (nl) m
• Finnish: kulkuri (fi), pummi (fi)
• French: vagabond (fr) m, clochard (fr) m, clodo (fr) m
• German: Obdachloser (de) m
• Italian: senzatetto (it)
• Macedonian: бе́здомник m (bézdomnik), кло́шар m (klóšar)
• Navajo: naʼałjidí
• Polish: bezdomny (pl) m, kloszard (pl) m
• Portuguese: mendigo (pt) m, mendiga (pt) f
• Romanian: vagabond (ro) m, boschetar m (slang)
• Russian: бомж (ru) m (bomž), бездо́мный (ru) m (bezdómnyj)
• Spanish: vagabundo (es) m, atorrante (es) m or f, torrante m or f (Chile), bichicome (es) m or f (despective, colloquial)
• Thai: คนไร้บ้าน, คนจรจัด
• Turkish: evsiz barksız

tramp, vagabond; bum

• Bulgarian: скитник (bg) m (skitnik)
• Dutch: leegloper (nl) m, vagebond (nl) m
• Finnish: pummi (fi)
• German: Vagabund (de) m
• Greek:

  Ancient Greek: ἀλήτης m (alḗtēs)

• Irish: fear siúil m
• Italian: vagabondo (it)
• Japanese: ルンペン (runpen)
• Latin: planus m, errō (la) m
• Macedonian: ски́тник m (skítnik)
• Navajo: naʼałjidí
• Polish: tramp (pl) m, wagabunda (pl) m, włóczęga (pl) m
• Portuguese: vagabundo (pt) m, vagabunda (pt) f
• Romanian: vagabond (ro) m, vagabondă (ro) f, derbedeu (ro) m, hoinar (ro) m
• Russian: бродяга (ru) (brodjaga)
• Spanish: vagabundo (es), atorrante (es) m or f, torrante m or f (Chile), guitón m
• Swedish: luffare (sv) n, vagabond (sv) n
• Tagalog: bayabay
• Thai: คนเร่ร่อน, คนพเนจร, คนจรจัด

migratory worker

• Bulgarian: сезонен работник m (sezonen rabotnik)
• Finnish: siirtotyöläinen (fi)
• French: saisonnier (fr) m
• Macedonian: се́зонски ра́ботник m (sézonski rábotnik)
• Polish: robotnik sezonowy m
• Portuguese: sazonal (pt)
• Romanian: sezonier (ro) m, sezonieră f
• Thai: แรงงานพลัดถิ่น

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• French: clochard (fr) m, clodo (fr), sans-abri (fr) m, vagabond (fr) m
• Slovak: tulák m

Verb

hobo (third-person singular simple present hobos, present participle hoboing, simple past and past participle hoboed)

1. (intransitive, perhaps pejorative) To be a hobo, tramp, bum etc.

   Joe idly hoboed through half the country till he realized hoboing never gets you anywhere in life.

Anagrams

• Boho, boho

Afrikaans

Etymology

From Dutch hobo, from French hautbois.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɦʊəˈbʊə/

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

hobo (plural hobo's, diminutive hobootjie)

1. oboe

Dutch

Etymology

Borrowed from French hautbois, from Middle French [Term?].

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɦoːˈboː/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: ho‧bo
• Rhymes: -oː

Noun

hobo m (plural hobo's, diminutive hobootje n)

1. oboe (woodwind)

Derived terms

• hoboïst

Japanese

Romanization

hobo

1. Rōmaji transcription of ほぼ