as in amateur
a person who regularly or occasionally engages in an activity as a pastime rather than as a profession
a book on crafting fine wood furniture that is intended for the home hobbyist
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Recent Examples of hobbyist
Group of beginners, hobbyists and professionals who like to take and share photos.
—
Staff Report, Baltimore Sun, 18 Feb. 2026
Popular with educators and computer hobbyists, the low-cost machines are now being sought for running AI agents like OpenClaw, as a safer alternative to a user’s main device, or the cloud, where agents could wreak havoc by, say, mistakenly wiping your entire drive.
—Brendan Ruberry, semafor.com, 17 Feb. 2026
Meanwhile, tech hobbyists are becoming radicalized by bots that can work for hours on end, collapsing months of work into weeks, or weeks into an afternoon.
—Lila Shroff, The Atlantic, 17 Feb. 2026
The Chengdu finals demonstrated strong interest from students, hobbyists, and technology professionals.
—Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 9 Feb. 2026
The San Diego Cactus and Succulent Society, an affiliate of the Cactus and Succulent Society of America, was founded in 1961 and is made up of hobbyists, researchers and enthusiasts who share a common interest and appreciation for the uniqueness and beauty of succulent plants.
—The San Diego Union Tribune, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 Feb. 2026
Buyers include families, hobbyists, schools, and event organizers — people willing to pay for novelty, experimentation, or early access.
—Jennifer Jolly, USA Today, 4 Feb. 2026
But independent local needlepoint shops — LNS, as in-the-know hobbyists call them — are still few and far between.
—Julianna Chen, Dallas Morning News, 3 Feb. 2026
The company operates three leisure travel tour brands, including EF Go Ahead Tours, EF Ultimate Break, and EF Adventures that supports all ages of travelers and numerous travel styles from foodies to hobbyists to more active travelers.
—Jeff Fromm, Forbes.com, 23 Jan. 2026
Staff Report, Baltimore Sun, 18 Feb. 2026
Popular with educators and computer hobbyists, the low-cost machines are now being sought for running AI agents like OpenClaw, as a safer alternative to a user’s main device, or the cloud, where agents could wreak havoc by, say, mistakenly wiping your entire drive.
—Brendan Ruberry, semafor.com, 17 Feb. 2026
Meanwhile, tech hobbyists are becoming radicalized by bots that can work for hours on end, collapsing months of work into weeks, or weeks into an afternoon.
—Lila Shroff, The Atlantic, 17 Feb. 2026
The Chengdu finals demonstrated strong interest from students, hobbyists, and technology professionals.
—Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 9 Feb. 2026
The San Diego Cactus and Succulent Society, an affiliate of the Cactus and Succulent Society of America, was founded in 1961 and is made up of hobbyists, researchers and enthusiasts who share a common interest and appreciation for the uniqueness and beauty of succulent plants.
—The San Diego Union Tribune, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 Feb. 2026
Buyers include families, hobbyists, schools, and event organizers — people willing to pay for novelty, experimentation, or early access.
—Jennifer Jolly, USA Today, 4 Feb. 2026
But independent local needlepoint shops — LNS, as in-the-know hobbyists call them — are still few and far between.
—Julianna Chen, Dallas Morning News, 3 Feb. 2026
The company operates three leisure travel tour brands, including EF Go Ahead Tours, EF Ultimate Break, and EF Adventures that supports all ages of travelers and numerous travel styles from foodies to hobbyists to more active travelers.
—Jeff Fromm, Forbes.com, 23 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hobbyist
Noun
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But for years now, groups of amateurs have been gathering with sketchbooks in cities across the world to turn their artistic gaze to the everyday sights of skyscrapers and sidewalks — and find beauty there.—
Deena Prichep,
NPR,
19 Feb. 2026
-
Bobby took after his mother, an amateur actress, in playing a guitar and performing.—
BOB THOMAS THE ASSOCIATED PRESS,
Arkansas Online,
17 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Rather than targeting end users, the company aims to empower developers, researchers, and tinkerers to create breakthrough humanoid applications without building full robots from scratch.—
Jijo Malayil,
Interesting Engineering,
28 Jan. 2026
-
Dedicated sports engineers and tinkerers alike continue to fine tune specialized skate designs.—
Mark Hay,
Popular Science,
28 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Hobbyist.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hobbyist. Accessed 24 Feb. 2026.
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