pastime

Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English 5++朗文当代英语 5++LDOCE 5++朗文 5++pas·time /ˈpɑːstaɪm $ ˈpæs-/ noun [countable] ENJOY/LIKE DOING somethingsomething that you do because you think it is enjoyable or interesting 消遣，娱乐 → hobby Reading was her favourite pastime. 阅读是她最喜爱的消遣方式。

Examples from the Corpus

pastime• As a pastime, keeping and riding horses has always been very expensive.• No doubt it was a deadly pastime in those years.• His favourite pastimes were shooting and golf.• Our cat's favourite pastime is sitting at the window and watching the people walk by.• Gardening is my mother's favourite pastime.• But they are often quite creative in figuring out mutually interesting pastimes.• A Gallup poll found gardening to be America's leading pastime.• Watching talk shows has become a national pastime in this country.• But there is also something worrying about a plastic box outwitting humans at this most cerebral of pastimes.• In southern Europe, shooting birds is a popular pastime.• Surely there are features of human nature other than this one overexposed and troublesome procreative pastime.• Living as he does in Moycullen, he has ample local opportunities to indulge in these pastimes.• Evangelicalism became an especially potent force in the attack on traditional pastimes.Origin pastime (1400-1500) Translation of French passe-temps “pass time”

pas·time nounChineseSyllable

that you think Corpus enjoyable because you something is it do

pastime
pas‧time /ˈpɑːstaɪm $ ˈpæs-/

noun [countable]

Date: 1400-1500
Origin: Translation of French passe-temps 'pass time'

something that you do because you think it is enjoyable or interesting ⇨ hobby:

Reading was her favourite pastime.

THESAURUS

   ▪ hobby an activity that you enjoy, and that you like to spend time doing when you are not working: Stamp collecting has been a hobby of mine since I was a child. | We had to write an essay about our hobbies.
   ▪ interest something that you are interested in and like doing or talking about: Her interests were the same as most young girls – pop music, boys and clothes.
   ▪ pastime especially written something that you do because it is enjoyable or interesting: Gardening was her mother's favourite pastime. | In England talking about the weather is a national pastime (=something that a lot of people in a country do).
   ▪ passion something that you feel extremely interested in and care a lot about: Football was his passion. | For the French, food is a passion.
   ▪ pursuit formal an activity that you spend time doing – used especially in the following phrases: The hills and lakes are used for a variety of outdoor pursuits. | Her son wasn't really interested in academic pursuits. | Mountaineering, golfing, and fishing were among his leisure pursuits

pas·time

BrE

/ˈpɑːstaɪm/

🔊

NAmE

/ˈpæstaɪm/

🔊

noun

something that you enjoy doing when you are not working 消遣；休闲活动

SYN

hobby

<titled tranID="24" status="1">interest</titled>hobby ◇ game ◇ pastime

These are all words for activities that you do for pleasure in your spare time. 以上各词均指业余消遣、闲暇活动。

interest an activity or a subject that you do or study for pleasure in your spare time 指业余爱好（活动或科目）：◆Her main interests are music and gardening. 她的主要爱好是音乐和园艺。
hobby an activity that you do for pleasure in your spare time 指业余爱好（活动）：◆His hobbies include swimming and cooking. 他爱好游泳和烹饪。
game a children's activity when they play with toys, pretend to be sb else, etc.; an activity that you do to have fun 指儿童游戏、玩耍、娱乐：◆a game of cops and robbers 警察抓强盗的游戏◆He was playing games with the dog. 他在逗狗玩。
pastime an activity that people do for pleasure in their spare time 指消遣、休闲活动：◆Eating out is the national pastime in France. 在法国，下馆子是全国性的消遣活动。

interest, hobby or pastime? 用 interest、hobby 还是 pastime？

A hobby is often more active than an interest. * hobby 常较 interest 主动、积极：◆His main hobby is football(= he plays football). 他的主要业余爱好是踢足球（他踢足球）。◆His main interest is football(= he watches and reads about football, and may or may not play it). 他的主要业余爱好是足球（他看足球赛和阅读有关足球的消息，但不一定踢足球）。 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. * pastime 泛指一般人的消遣活动，指自己或个人的业余爱好较常用 interest 或 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