toby

n. the main valve outside a house that turns the water supply on or off.

n. the shut-off valve located at the boundary of a property that connects the municipal mains water supply to the private plumbing system.

“We had to find the toby in the garden to turn off the water after the pipe burst.”

“The plumber spent twenty minutes clearing away the overgrown grass to locate the toby before he could begin repairing the internal leak.”

British English · Dialect · Technical

n. an old word for a road or highway.

n. a slang term for the highway or road, often associated with travellers or highwaymen.

“The old stories tell of highwaymen who spent their lives out on the toby.”

“In the nineteenth-century underworld, 'to be on the toby' meant to live a life of crime on the open roads.”

British English · Archaic · Slang

n. a small type of pufferfish found in the ocean.

n. any of several species of small pufferfish belonging to the genus Canthigaster.

“While diving near the reef, we saw a colourful toby swimming near the coral.”

“The sharpnose toby is a popular addition to marine aquariums, though it is known for nipping at the fins of slower-moving tank mates.”

Technical