How do you use the word "hobby" in a sentence?

Here are real-life examples of using "hobby": My hobby is to listen to music. You ought not to have spent so much money on your hobby.

Hobby Meaning

/ˈhɒ.bi/

Definition, CEFR level A1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.

Definition

nounAn activity that one enjoys doing in one's spare time.

nounAn extinct breed of horse native to the British Isles, also known as the Irish Hobby.

Sentence Examples

My hobby is to listen to music.

You ought not to have spent so much money on your hobby.

My hobby is taking pictures of wild flowers.

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms:

pursuit

Antonyms:

None

CEFR Practice Quiz

In his free time, he enjoys painting as a relaxing ____.

CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)

Collecting rare stamps is a very relaxing ____ that he has enjoyed since he was a young boy.

Word Origin & History

Shortened from hobby-horse, from Middle English hoby, hobyn, hobin (“small horse, pony”), from Old French hobi, *haubi, haubby, hobin ("a nag, hobby"; > Modern French aubin, Italian ubino), of Germanic origin: from Old French hober, ober (“to stir, move”), from Old Dutch hobben (“to toss, move up and down”); or from North Germanic origin related to Danish hoppe (“a mare”), Old Swedish hoppa (“a young mare”), North Frisian hoppe (“horse”); both ultimately from Proto-Germanic *huppōną (“to hop”), from Proto-Indo-European *kewb- (“to bend; a bend, joint”). More at hop, hobble. The meaning of hobby-horse shifted from "small horse, pony" to "child's toy riding horse" to "favorite pastime or avocation" with the connecting notion being "activity that doesn't go anywhere". Possibly originally from a proper name for a horse, a diminutive of Robert or Robin (compare dobbin).

Literary Quotations & Historical Citations

"I was out a-hunting to-day, and I got away to a place in the wood I’d never seen before. And there was an old chalk-pit. And I heard a kind of a sort of humming. So I got off my hobby, and I went right quiet to the pit, and I looked down." — 1890, Joseph Jacobs, “Tom Tit Tot”, in English Fairy Tales, page 7:

""Well, I think East is right," said Arthur; "I can't see but what it's right to do the best you can, though it mayn't be the best absolutely. Every man isn't born to be a martyr." "Of course, of course," said East; "but he's on one of his pet hobbies. — How often have I told you, Tom, that you must drive a nail where it'll go."" — 1857, Thomas Hughes, Tom Brown's School Days:

"He hawked – from nearby Esher, Richard Fox sent a servant with a hobby, which Henry received enthusiastically – and hunted, sending a present of freshly slaughtered deer to Princess Mary." — 2011, Thomas Penn, Winter King, Penguin, published 2012, page 323:

Explore More A1 Vocabulary Words