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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

hob.

A kind of cutting tool, used to cut the teeth of a gear.

3 characters1 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

noun/hɑb/General-American/hɒb/Received-Pronunciation
  1. A kind of cutting tool, used to cut the teeth of a gear.

  2. The flat projection or iron shelf at the side of a fire grate, where things are put to be kept warm.

    historical
  3. The top cooking surface on a cooker. It typically comprises several cooking elements (often four), usually called rings.

    Commonwealth · Ireland · UK
  4. A rounded peg used as a target in several games, especially in quoits.

  5. A male ferret.

  6. The hub of a wheel.

Where this word comes from

Related to hub, but the ultimate origin of both words is obscure.

verb/hɑb/General-American/hɒb/Received-Pronunciation
  1. To create (a gear) by cutting with a hob.

    transitive
  2. To engage in the process of cutting gears with a hob.

    intransitive
Where this word comes from

Related to hub, but the ultimate origin of both words is obscure.

noun/hɑb/General-American/hɒb/Received-Pronunciation
  1. A fairy; a sprite; an elf; a bogey.

    obsolete
  2. A countryman; a rustic or yokel.

    obsolete
Where this word comes from

From Middle English Hob (a diminutive of Robin, an Old French [Term?] diminutive of Robert), through its connection with Robin Goodfellow and (later) the devil. Compare hobgoblin; see robin.

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.