Synonyms of hobbyhorse

hobbyhorse

noun

ˈhä-bē-ˌhȯrs 

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

• hobby
• pursuit
• sport
• avocation
• amusement
• recreation
• entertainment
• pastime
• diversion
• relaxation
• distraction

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of hobbyhorse

Eccentricities, crotchets, and hobbyhorses are such interesting intellectual drivers. — Clare Bucknell, The New York Review of Books, 27 June 2026

Laqueur’s book has no particular thesis to hobbyhorse for, and yet a unified-field theory of aesthetic dogginess might be distilled from its pages. — Adam Gopnik, New Yorker, 25 May 2026

The notion that Winston Churchill, not the German Führer, was the villain in World War II — another of Buchanan’s hobbyhorses — is again gaining ground on the right. — Bret Stephens, Mercury News, 14 Nov. 2025

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

Old-fashioned hobbyhorses entice shoppers to imagine riding on them. — Melanie Stetson Freeman, Christian Science Monitor, 31 July 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

Podcast

Get Word of the Day delivered to your inbox!