Synonyms interest
interest
hobby ▪ game ▪ pastime
These are all words for activities that you do for pleasure in your spare time.
interest an activity or a subject that you do or study for pleasure in your spare time:
Her main interests are music and gardening.
hobby an activity that you do for pleasure in your spare time:
His hobbies include swimming and cooking.
game a children’s activity when they play with toys, pretend to be somebody else, etc.; an activity that you do to have fun:
a game of cops and robbers
He was playing games with the dog.
pastime an activity that people do for pleasure in their spare time:
Eating out is the national pastime in France.
interest, hobby or pastime?
A hobby is often more active than an interest: His main hobby is football (= he plays football). • His main interest is football (= he watches and reads about football, and may or may not play it). Pastime is used when talking about people in general; when you are talking about yourself or an individual person it is more usual to use interest or hobby: Eating out is the national interest/hobby in France. • Do you have any pastimes?
Patterns
a popular interest/hobby/pastime
to have/share interests/hobbies
to take up/pursue a(n) interest/hobby