Did you know?
"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 three-part novel The Lord of the Rings.
Examples of hobbit in a Sentence
Trudy Haywood Saunders, Travel + Leisure, 26 Nov. 2025
Homoerectus wasn't, the hobbits weren't.
—Outside Online, 12 Nov. 2025
Nestled on 30 private acres in the South Fork of Provo Canyon, the secluded property threads streams and waterfalls beneath stone bridges, across gentle knolls, and under low-hanging eaves, all hinting at a hobbit-house inspiration without ever tipping into twee fantasy.
—Abby Montanez, Robb Report, 6 Nov. 2025
Why is that hobbit wearing jorts?
—Brian Moylan, Vulture, 17 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for hobbit
Cite this Entry
“Hobbit.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hobbit. Accessed 22 Dec. 2025.
Copy Citation
Share