hobnob

[ hob-nob ]
See synonyms for hobnob on Thesaurus.com
verb (used without object),hob·nobbed, hob·nob·bing.
  1. to associate on very friendly terms (usually followed by with): She often hobnobs with royalty.

  2. Archaic. to drink together.

noun
  1. a friendly, informal chat.

Origin of hobnob

1
First recorded in 1825–30 in the sense “hit or miss; at random”; from the phrase hab or nab literally, “have or have not,” from Middle English habbe or nabbe, Old English habban “to have” + nabbn “not to have” (from ne “not” + habban “to have”)

Words Nearby hobnob

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use hobnob in a sentence

  • You can't certainly if you hobnob with the rival candidate and call him a good fellow.

  • Im sure they used to hobnob and drink brandy and water together in seedy public-houses.

    The Bishop's Apron | W. Somerset Maugham
  • Jacinto Quesada had not stopped in passing to hobnob with the Gypsies.

    The Wolf Cub | Patrick Casey
  • He did not relish having to hobnob in this way with such a vulgarian as a grafting police captain.

    The Third Degree | Charles Klein and Arthur Hornblow
  • There were even ladies in bonnets, as if they had run in neighborly to hobnob an hour with Iwakura.

    From the Easy Chair, series 3 | George William Curtis

British Dictionary definitions for hobnob

hobnob

/ (ˈhɒbˌnɒb) /


verb-nobs, -nobbing or -nobbed (intr often foll by with)
  1. to socialize or talk informally

  2. obsolete to drink (with)

Origin of hobnob

1
C18: from hob or nob to drink to one another in turns, hence, to be familiar, ultimately from Old English habban to have + nabban not to have

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012