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"What is a hobbit?" wrote J.R.R. Tolkien in the 1937 fantasy novel that introduced Mr. Bilbo Baggins. The author then answered himself: "They are (or were) little people, about half our height, and smaller than the bearded Dwarves.... There is little or no magic about them, except the ordinary everyday sort which helps them to disappear when large stupid folk like you and me come blundering along...." Tolkien tells us that hobbits "are inclined to be fat," and that they "dress in bright colours"; they "have good-natured faces, and deep fruity laughs (especially after dinner)." Tolkien, a professional linguist who taught at Oxford, coined the word hobbit (and many other terms—in fact, a whole new language) for The Hobbit and for his enormously popular series The Lord of the Rings.
Examples of hobbit in a Sentence
Sara C. Hahn, The New Yorker, 19 Mar. 2024
Two of the Shire’s favorite hobbits reunited at the 2024 SAG Awards.
—EW.com, 24 Feb. 2024
In her autobiography, Meloni concedes to a lifelong adoration of Tolkien’s works, including dressing as the hobbit Samwise Gamgee with other politically aspirant youth.
—Stefano Pitrelli, Washington Post, 16 Nov. 2023
One was a hobbit house with a snowy roof slide that ended in an ice hole.
—Lisa Lucas, Washington Post, 27 Feb. 2024
Inspired by the surrounding nature (and looking a bit like above-ground hobbit houses), the property’s structures are also impressive.
—Katie Jackson, Robb Report, 20 Feb. 2024
Most homes and businesses are wedged onto tiny lots, the buildings often designed with fairy-tale flourishes, as if commissioned by hobbits with trust funds.
—Christopher Reynolds, Los Angeles Times, 22 Nov. 2023
When Jackson took out a newspaper ad for people shorter than 5-foot-3 to be hobbit extras in the second trilogy, Malone auditioned and got the part.
—Kevin Baxter, Los Angeles Times, 28 Nov. 2023
While there are no hobbits in the series, there are hobbit ancestors called harfoots, which get some trailer time, as well as a first-ever look at some of Tolkien’s characters from the island kingdom of Númenor, such as Isildur (Maxim Baldry).
—James Hibberd, The Hollywood Reporter, 14 July 2022
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'hobbit.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Hobbit.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hobbit. Accessed 23 Apr. 2024.
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