plural hoboes also hobos
1
: a migratory worker
2
: a homeless and usually penniless vagabond
3
or less commonly hobo bag
: a large shoulder bag shaped like a pouch
To punctuate the all-blue outfit, the actress slung on an unstructured, oversized suede hobo, a practical antidote to the current craze for fanny packs and mini bags.—
Edward Barsamian
Edward Barsamian
hoboed; hoboing; hobos
: to live or travel in the manner of a hobo
Synonyms
Examples of hobo in a Sentence
Noun
kind folks who always gave hoboes who came to the farm a meal and then sent them on their way
Recent Examples on the WebTiffany Acosta, The Arizona Republic, 2 Aug. 2024
More than that, by actually living on the trail, Jack became, arguably, something unique: a hobo ambassador who was the AT’s living, breathing, ambulating encyclopedia.
—Dan Koeppel, Outside Online, 5 Sep. 2019
Meanwhile, Kamali’s recent collections have fueled nostalgia for all things ’70s, making fringed leather chaps, jackets and hobo bags the new pieces to covet.
—Ari Stark, WWD, 3 July 2024
Down here your lungs breathed fibs right along with Bradford pear, Confederate jasmine, Creole mirepoix, and fresh beignets—and the bad stuff too, the flood mold, hot-trash crawfish shells, tourist-buggy horse s—, and Bourbon Street’s hobo funk of liquor, piss, and puke.
—Carly Tagen-Dye, Peoplemag, 7 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for hobo 
Noun
The towering figure of a cheerful, cartoonish hobo was the mascot of a chain of Hobo Joe's Restaurants that were popular in the 1960s through the mid-1980s.
—Tiffany Acosta, The Arizona Republic, 2 Aug. 2024
More than that, by actually living on the trail, Jack became, arguably, something unique: a hobo ambassador who was the AT’s living, breathing, ambulating encyclopedia.
—Dan Koeppel, Outside Online, 5 Sep. 2019
Meanwhile, Kamali’s recent collections have fueled nostalgia for all things ’70s, making fringed leather chaps, jackets and hobo bags the new pieces to covet.
—Ari Stark, WWD, 3 July 2024
Down here your lungs breathed fibs right along with Bradford pear, Confederate jasmine, Creole mirepoix, and fresh beignets—and the bad stuff too, the flood mold, hot-trash crawfish shells, tourist-buggy horse s—, and Bourbon Street’s hobo funk of liquor, piss, and puke.
—Carly Tagen-Dye, Peoplemag, 7 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for hobo
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'hobo.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near hobo
Cite this Entry
“Hobo.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hobo. Accessed 16 Sep. 2024.
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