Liberal Dictionary English Dictionary
hobo [hoh-boh] ExamplesWord Origin See more synonyms for hobo on Thesaurus.com noun, plural ho·bos, ho·boes.
- a tramp or vagrant.
- a migratory worker.
Origin of hobo An Americanism dating back to 1885–90; origin uncertainRelated formsho·bo·ism, noun Related Words for hobo tramp, wanderer, drifter, beggar, vagrant, transient, wino, bum, vagabond, derelict Examples from the Web for hobo Historical Examples of hobo
The point is that not one of the eight was really Hobo Harry.
Nicholas Carter
I had been readin’ the papers, and I had seen a lot about Hobo Harry in ’em.
Nicholas Carter
They think only that she is Hobo Harry’s wife, or sister, or sweetheart, or something like that.
Nicholas Carter
Hobo miners, the most expert of their craft, and begging their grub on the trail!
Dane Coolidge
Hobo keenly felt the responsibility of the family he had adopted.
Harriet L. (Harriet Lummis) Smith
British Dictionary definitions for hobo hobo noun plural -bos or -boes mainly US and Canadian
- a tramp; vagrant
- a migratory worker, esp an unskilled labourer
Derived Formshoboism, nounWord Origin for hobo C19 (US): origin unknown Word Origin and History for hobo n.
1889, Western U.S., of unknown origin. Barnhart compares early 19c. English dialectal hawbuck “lout, clumsy fellow, country bumpkin.” Or possibly from ho, boy, a workers’ call on late 19c. western U.S. railroads. Facetious formation hobohemia, “community or life of hobos,” is from 1923 (see bohemian).