Skip to main content
to hobnob

to hobnob

5 7.9
To spend time talking with important or famous people
  • verb
  • /ˈhɑːbˌnɑːb/
translation icon : codearse
  • At the charity gala, she had the chance to hobnob with influential politicians and celebrities.
  • hobnob with stars
  • chance to hobnob

Examples

  • He hobnobs with kings, queens, heads of state, and other mega-wealthy elites around the globe.

    Blog text (33)
  • They wear fancy clothes, they hobnob with their celebrity friends, they go to all the nightclubs.

  • So you can hobnob with everybody.

  • Go hobnob a little, you know?

  • "People will often get down on their knees for a chance to hobnob with me."

    Fiction book (1995)
  • That way, he could hobnob with all the right wizards.

  • You are gonna hobnob with celebs.

  • " I go out there and hobnob with the biggest, best names in the business," Swanson said.

    Blog text (14)
  • There is a reason the elites always hobnob with the Catholic leadership.

    Blog text (30)
  • I don't hobnob with the jet set.

Synonyms

to mingle
vsto hobnob
64 3.1

Join and talk with other people at a meeting or party

emphasizes mixing with higher status people rather than general participation
to fraternize
vsto hobnob
20 7.7

To be friendly and spend time with people you should avoid, for example enemies

concerns mixing with higher status people rather than forbidden friendliness
to hobnob with
vsto hobnob
8 8.0

To spend time talking with important or powerful people

is identical in meaning but differs in form as a prepositional phrase
to rub elbows
vsto hobnob
  • Informal
8 5.8

To meet and talk with important people at social events

targets people of higher status rather than general close mingling
to rub shoulders
vsto hobnob
7 4.6

Mix socially with important or famous people

focuses on mixing with higher status people rather than general mingling
to work the room
vsto hobnob
  • Informal
5 7.1

To move around a party or event and talk to many people to make connections

aims at mixing with higher status people rather than broad networking
to schmoose
vsto hobnob
  • Informal
9.5

To talk in a friendly, casual way to make contacts

focuses on meeting higher status people rather than casual flattering chat

Antonyms

1.0

To stay away from something or not do it to stop something bad from happening

Phrasal Verbs

To spend time talking with important or powerful people

How Social

to schmooze
  • Informal
9 8.6
to hobnob
5 7.9
to mingle
64 3.1
to socialize
  • US
68 2.8

Surface Forms

hobnob infinitive
hobnobbed past
hobnobbed past participle
hobnobbing present participle
hobnobs third person singular

Morphology

hobnob = hob + nob (semi-transparent) = hob + nob

The word is visibly a compound of 'hob' + 'nob' and 'nob' hints at high-status people, but 'hob' is obscure and the sense is idiomatic/lexicalized rather than a productive compound.

Etymology

Hobnob comes from an old phrase hob and nob, which meant 'to drink and chat' together. One popular way to remember it is that nob sounds like 'noble', a 'high' or 'important' person, so to hobnob is to mix socially with people of higher status.