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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Recent Examples of hobbyhorse
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
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
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
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hobbyhorse
Noun
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Many collectors, including Patten, ramped up their hobby during the pandemic when concert money was redirected toward home listening.—
Chase Jordan
Updated May 11,
Charlotte Observer,
11 May 2026
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While Buddy passed a few years ago, Landowski slowly began to put in the work to turn the playtime hobby into a sport.—
Tanya Babbar,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
11 May 2026
Noun
-
Allin, showing his guts, kept his pursuit of glory.—
Ryan Gaydos,
FOXNews.com,
14 May 2026
-
Certainly like Trump in his first race for the presidency, Pratt is upping his brand (and book sales) in the process of his electoral pursuits.—
Dominic Patten,
Deadline,
14 May 2026
Noun
-
For years, athletes and parents who questioned transgender participation in women’s sports were often labeled transphobic.—
Alejandro Avila OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
15 May 2026
-
At a press conference Wednesday announcing the bill, lawmakers cited studies showing that the cost of playing youth sports has risen by 46% in five years, with many families paying more than $5,000 per child for a single season.—
Kenny Jacoby,
USA Today,
14 May 2026
Noun
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The cultural upbringing, hobbies, avocations, passions, and beliefs of Mercado and Oscar are virtually the same.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
12 May 2026
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As Sottile sees it, the dog-show economy thrives on dog lovers’ sense of avocation.—
Kelli María Korducki,
HubSpot,
6 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
The animal’s body was no longer treated as a source of sustenance or knowledge, but rather as a prop for amusement.—
Sam Zeveloff,
STAT,
9 May 2026
-
While the work’s English title might indicate a sense of amusement or distraction, the Chinese title is an idiom that refers to being caught in a dilemma, like a boat that has left one shore but has not yet reached the other.—
Pauline J. Yao,
Artforum,
2 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Hobbyhorse.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hobbyhorse. Accessed 15 May. 2026.
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