as in hobby
an activity outside of one's regular occupation that is engaged in primarily for pleasure
oil painting became the hobbyhorse of her long years of retirement
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of hobbyhorse
There must have been hundreds of them made, a stable of hobbyhorses, and one had ended up in the basement of our house in Massachusetts.
—
Cynthia Zarin, Harpers Magazine, 19 Sep. 2025
It is also blighted by Tanenhaus’s hobbyhorses, which are especially evident in his caviling when promoting his book.
—The Editors, National Review, 2 June 2025
Both parties instead must make the case that federal funding for research is not a partisan hobbyhorse but a source of long-term economic and political strength.
—David G. Victor, Foreign Affairs, 28 May 2025
The treatment of white farmers in South Africa has been a hobbyhorse of South African X owner Elon Musk for quite a while.
—ArsTechnica, 14 May 2025
In 2017, the National Institutes of Health asked Hotez to meet with Kennedy to move him off the hobbyhorse of a vaccine-autism link.
—Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 22 Apr. 2025
Mergers and acquisitions of media companies is an area squarely in the FCC’s purview, which cannot be said of Section 230 and more tech-adjacent regulation that have also been Carr hobbyhorses.
—Steven Zeitchik, HollywoodReporter, 3 Apr. 2025
Throw these men off their hobbyhorses, off the tracks of their discourse.
—James Parker, The Atlantic, 28 Jan. 2025
Cynthia Zarin, Harpers Magazine, 19 Sep. 2025
It is also blighted by Tanenhaus’s hobbyhorses, which are especially evident in his caviling when promoting his book.
—The Editors, National Review, 2 June 2025
Both parties instead must make the case that federal funding for research is not a partisan hobbyhorse but a source of long-term economic and political strength.
—David G. Victor, Foreign Affairs, 28 May 2025
The treatment of white farmers in South Africa has been a hobbyhorse of South African X owner Elon Musk for quite a while.
—ArsTechnica, 14 May 2025
In 2017, the National Institutes of Health asked Hotez to meet with Kennedy to move him off the hobbyhorse of a vaccine-autism link.
—Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 22 Apr. 2025
Mergers and acquisitions of media companies is an area squarely in the FCC’s purview, which cannot be said of Section 230 and more tech-adjacent regulation that have also been Carr hobbyhorses.
—Steven Zeitchik, HollywoodReporter, 3 Apr. 2025
Throw these men off their hobbyhorses, off the tracks of their discourse.
—James Parker, The Atlantic, 28 Jan. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hobbyhorse
Noun
-
Skiing has a reputation for being a pricey hobby, from the expensive gear to the ever-rising lift tickets and luxe mountainside hotels.—
Lydia Price,
Travel + Leisure,
4 Nov. 2025
-
Jack is not the only one who appeared to be starting a new hobby.—
Kimberlee Speakman,
PEOPLE,
4 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
But Vanderbilt, as attention, pressure and fatigue rise on a pursuit no one outside its camp expected, is essentially two teams with two games left in the 2025 regular season.—
Joe Rexrode,
New York Times,
9 Nov. 2025
-
The crash remains under active investigation by the FHP as officials work to reconstruct the events and review pursuit protocols.—
Hollie Silverman,
MSNBC Newsweek,
8 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
The damage done by Dumont allowing Harrison to trade Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers in February is a level of self-infliction that few sports franchises in the modern era have ever executed.—
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
11 Nov. 2025
-
Stream the basketball games in both men’s and women’s sports on top channels like ABC, FOX, NBC, CBS, ESPN, SEC Network, ACC Network, Big Ten Network, FS1, and more.—
Ben Verbrugge,
MSNBC Newsweek,
11 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
My vocation as a writer and editor and my avocation as a gardener and composter go hand in hand.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
18 Sep. 2025
-
Retired from her long vocation as a research chemist, Schafer, at 81, remains on the job with her avocations.—
Patricia Gallagher Newberry,
Cincinnati Enquirer,
13 May 2025
Noun
-
Meanwhile, Harry, who remained seated, looked on and chuckled with amusement.—
Ashley Hume,
FOXNews.com,
3 Nov. 2025
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Dowdle got dinged after his second, much to the amusement of Adam Amin and Greg Olsen in the Fox broadcast booth.—
Luke DeCock,
Charlotte Observer,
2 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Hobbyhorse.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hobbyhorse. Accessed 13 Nov. 2025.
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