Meaning & use
hobo
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Meanings
nouncountableold-fashioned
A homeless traveler, especially in 19th- and 20th-century North America, who moved around and did casual jobs.
Grammar: Countable: a hobo, two hobos; often historical rather than modern.
Patterns
- a hobo riding freight trains
- life as a hobo
The novel follows a hobo who hops freight trains during the Depression.
My grandfather told stories about a kindly hobo who traded chores for meals.
verbintransitiveold-fashionedrare
To wander and live as a homeless traveling worker, especially by riding freight trains.
Grammar: No object; rare and literary today.
Patterns
- hobo across the country
He hoboed across the Midwest one summer, sleeping in rail yards.
Word forms
| plural | hobos |
|---|---|
| third person singular | hobos |
| past tense | hoboed |
| past participle | hoboed |
| -ing form | hoboing |
Common combinations
- ride the rails as a hobo
- As a hobo, he rode the rails from town to town.
- Depression-era hobo
- Museums display Depression-era hobo belongings.
- hobo camp
- The travelers shared a stew at a hobo camp near the tracks.
Synonyms and how they differ
- tramp
- A tramp travels without a home but is traditionally seen as avoiding work, unlike the working hobo.
- drifter
- A drifter moves from place to place without a clear purpose; hobo is more tied to rail travel and odd jobs.
- vagrant
- A formal, often legal or negative word for a homeless person; less neutral than modern 'unhoused person'.
Word family
- hoboing noun
- The act of traveling as a hobo; very rare.
Commonly confused: hobo or tramp? hobo or bum?
hobo vs tramp
Both suggest homelessness, but tramp often implies not working, while hobo implies traveling and seeking casual work.
hobo vs bum
Bum is more insulting and suggests begging or refusing to work; hobo is a milder historical label.
Practice
Which sentence uses the word in its usual historical sense?
Choose one answer.
A hobo is a homeless traveling worker, often in the Depression era, so trading work for food fits. The other options describe settled or official roles that contradict the meaning.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “hobo”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.