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
Relevance
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
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
-
Giampaolo Dallara had a slightly different Covid-19 lockdown hobby than the rest of us.—
Nicole Hoey,
Robb Report,
23 Mar. 2026
-
Create that profile or summary statement, frontload your strengths and best skills, write those descriptions of your best projects and achievements in jobs past, describe your volunteer and community work, share those hobbies and interests.—
Amy Lindgren,
Twin Cities,
21 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
The South African competition framework was one of the biggest barriers to MTN’s pursuit of Telkom, the third largest network which also runs the biggest fiber optic network in Africa’s biggest economy.—
Tiisetso Motsoeneng,
semafor.com,
20 Mar. 2026
-
Nathan Lane dryly observed that Chalamet said all this while promoting a movie about Ping-Pong—another pursuit of no interest to huge numbers of people.—
Alex Ross,
New Yorker,
19 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
It's called Ced’s Corner, from the mind of the American-Statesman’s resident sports columnist, the 2025 NSMA Texas Sportswriter of the Year.—
Cedric Golden,
Austin American Statesman,
20 Mar. 2026
-
As March Madness is underway, the debate over whether or not to legalize sports betting in Minnesota is once again a hot topic at the state Capitol.—
John Lauritsen,
CBS News,
20 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
As Sottile sees it, the dog-show economy thrives on dog lovers’ sense of avocation.—
Kelli María Korducki,
HubSpot,
6 Feb. 2026
-
My vocation as a writer and editor and my avocation as a gardener and composter go hand in hand.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
18 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Until the very end, our friend and colleague Calvin Tomkins looked at his life with a sense of wonder and wry amusement.—
David Remnick,
New Yorker,
20 Mar. 2026
-
Ryan keeps to the room’s edges, watching with a mix of amusement and horror.—
Clara Molot,
Vanity Fair,
17 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Hobbyhorse.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hobbyhorse. Accessed 25 Mar. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
