hob

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"The kettle on the hob is the friend of the family," she said gaily.

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Definitions (28)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (4)

  1. noun A shelf or projection at the back or side of a fireplace, used for keeping food or utensils warm.
  2. noun A tool used for cutting the teeth of machine parts, as of a gearwheel.
  3. noun Chiefly British A hobgoblin, sprite, or elf.

Toggle Century definitions Century Dictionary (13)

Toggle GNU Webster definitions GNU Webster's 1913 (6)

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Examples (50)

  • There was a bronchitis kettle on the hob, and his breathing was difficult, but he was still the old Disraeli, and though I think that he knew that he was dying, yet his pleasant spitefulness about “Mr. G.” was not abated. —  The Life of the Rt. Hon. Sir Charles W. Dilke V1
  • Ribboned in a dazzling fall of light, Karik and a hob were engaged in some strange mutual contortion. —  Asimov'sSF,June2008
  • But the truth is that the part of my mind that once worked in that way—as hard as a well-whipped hob, as the saying used to go—feels worn out. —  Asimov'sSF,June2008
  • I remember the times when I was alone in my homestead with that broken leg, and how the hobs bore me about with the contortion known as the hob carpet, when it seemed as if I was walking unaided even though I was supported almost entirely by their work. —  Asimov'sSF,June2008
  • It was like a little platform, so our first clever thought was that it was a mini tabletop hob -- Koreans love their barbecues. —  Independent.ie - Frontpage RSS Feed
 

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Etymologies (4)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (2)

  1. Origin unknown.
  2. From Middle English Hob, a nickname for Robert, a nickname for Robert.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (2)

  1. In another form hub, q. v.; a dial. word of obscure origin. Not connected with Danish hob (= English heap) or with W. hōb, a measure of capacity, or with W. hob, swine.
  2. A generalized use of Hob, a familiar form of Robin, Robert, like Hodge, q. v., for Roger. From Hob are derived the surnames Hobbs, Hobbins, Hobson, Hopkins, Hopkinson, etc. See Robin, Robin Goodfellow.
 

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/hɑb/
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