Definition

1. Noun:
   • A homeless person who travels from place to place, often by illegally hopping on freight trains, and survives by doing odd jobs or begging: A "hobo" is a migratory worker or vagrant, historically in North America, distinguished from a tramp or a bum by a willingness to work.
   • A vagrant or tramp; a person without a permanent home or regular work who wanders from place to place: This meaning emphasizes the transient and often impoverished lifestyle.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • During the Great Depression, many men became hobos, riding the rails in search of work.
  • The old hobo sat by the campfire, telling stories of his travels across the country.
  • He lived the life of a hobo for a few years, working on farms during harvest season.

Advanced Usage

• "Hobo" vs. "Tramp" vs. "Bum": In historical American slang, distinctions were sometimes made: a "hobo" was a traveling worker, a "tramp" was a traveling non-worker, and a "bum" was a non-traveling non-worker. In modern usage, these terms are often used interchangeably as derogatory terms for homeless vagrants.
• "Hobo bag": A large, soft, slouchy handbag or shoulder bag. This is a separate, modern fashion term derived from the bags carried by hobos.
  • She carried all her essentials in a stylish leather hobo bag.

Variants and Related Words

• Hoboes/Hobos (n): Both are accepted plural forms of "hobo."
• Hoboism (n): The practice or lifestyle of being a hobo.
  • His book documented the history of hoboism in America.

Synonyms

• Vagrant: A person without a settled home or regular work who wanders from place to place and lives by begging.
• Tramp: A person who travels from place to place on foot in search of work or as a vagrant.
• Drifter: A person who is continually moving from place to place, without a fixed home or job.
• Migrant worker: A person who moves from place to place to find work, especially in farming.

Related Phrases

• Riding the rails: Traveling by illegally hopping on freight trains, a practice historically associated with hobos.
  • In his youth, he spent a summer riding the rails like a hobo.
• Hobo sign / Hobo code: A system of symbols drawn or chalked near homes to communicate information (e.g., kind homeowner, dangerous dog) to other traveling hobos.
  • They found an old hobo sign carved into the fence post.

Idioms

• To live like a hobo: To live in a very poor, transient, or makeshift way.
  • After losing his job, he was living like a hobo, sleeping on friends' couches.

Noun

1. a disreputable vagrant
   • a homeless tramp
   • he tried to help the really down-and-out bums