hobo 1 of 2

noun

ˈhō-(ˌ)bō How to pronounce hobo (audio)
Definition of hobonext
as in beggar
a homeless wanderer who may beg or steal for a living kind folks who always gave hoboes who came to the farm a meal and then sent them on their way

Synonyms & Similar Words

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hobo

2 of 2

verb

as in to tramp

Related Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of hobo
Noun
Add a slouchy hobo bag and Western belt at the waist for the full effect. — Laura Jackson, Vogue, 17 Aug. 2026 The chocolate brown finish makes this hobo bag a fitting style for fall. — Emily Weaver, PEOPLE, 15 Aug. 2026 Kick off your cart with this gorgeous Kate Spade crossbody, which is nearly 40 percent off, then go the spill-proof route with this fits-a-ton Bagsmart hobo bag. — Annie Blackman, InStyle, 15 Aug. 2026 Most bestsellers, including the Cyme tote and Numéro Neuf, sit between 340 and 590 euros, with the new Shuldo hobo at 640 euros. — Lily Templeton, Footwear News, 31 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for hobo
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hobo
  1. beggar
  2. tramp
  3. bum
  4. vagabond
  5. vagrant
Noun
  • Dhaka’s rundown streets peppered with the homeless, vendors and child beggars.
    — Miriam Balanescu, IndieWire, 6 Sep. 2026
  • Robert Pattinson’s big outburst in Christopher Nolan’s ‘The Odyssey,’ has gone viral—here’s the ‘beggars’ meme, explained.
    — Dani Di Placido, Forbes.com, 26 July 2026
Definition of beggar
Verb
  • Days or weeks passed, but then the dog barked, the mail carrier tramped onto the porch, the mailbox clattered.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 13 July 2026
  • The pair’s snow boots tramped the nearly week-old Kansas City snow, two candles clutched in their small hands.
    — Caroline Zimmerman, Kansas City Star, 30 Jan. 2026
Definition of tramp
Noun
  • Carl Sandburg’s 1927 American Songbag featured a whole section of hobo songs presenting the bum as a beau ideal.
    — Caroline Fraser, The New York Review of Books, 3 Oct. 2026
  • The silhouette was heavily elongated, with three-quarter-length jackets and argyle knitwear that covered the bum.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 24 Sep. 2026
Definition of bum
Verb
  • The jam band scene – long reigned over by groups like the Grateful Dead and the Allman Brothers Band – exploded in the Nineties as newer artists like Phish and Widespread Panic began filling arenas and fomenting their own rabid vagabonding fanbases.
    — Daniel Kreps, Rolling Stone, 9 July 2025
  • In 1978, Wenner sold the magazine to Larry Burke, a young man from Chicago who had spent a chunk of his twenties vagabonding around Europe, Africa, and the Middle East.
    — Rachel Monroe, New Yorker, 18 Apr. 2025
Definition of vagabond
Noun
  • This is accomplished with the aid of a dead vagrant, a false identity, a commandeered submarine, and tons of other chicanery.
    — K. Thor Jensen, PC Magazine, 25 Sep. 2026
  • Across the planet, most populations of monarch butterflies—in Spain, in Hawaii—are likely descended from vagrants that veered off the Mexico migration path.
    — Vann R. Newkirk II, The Atlantic, 28 July 2026
Definition of vagrant

Browse Nearby Words

hobnobs
hobo
hoboed
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Hobo.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hobo. Accessed 9 Oct. 2026.

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