Meaning & use

hobo

noun·Advanced

A person, especially one who travels from place to place doing casual work, who has no permanent home.

See it in a sentence

During the Depression, many hobos rode freight trains searching for seasonal work.

The old novel follows a hobo who hops trains across the American Midwest.

A note on using this word

Hobo traditionally implies someone willing to work while traveling, unlike tramp, which can suggest avoiding work altogether.

Words with a similar meaning

vagrantdriftertramp

Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.

Make it your own

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