# toby

/ˈtoʊbi/ (US)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/toby
Updated: 2026-08-15

## Senses

### 2. water supply valve

noun · CEFR C2 · British English · Dialect · Technical

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

For teachers: 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.

Usage: Commonly used in New Zealand and parts of the United Kingdom.

### 3. the road

noun · CEFR C2 · British English · Archaic · Slang

an old word for a road or highway.

For teachers: 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.

### 4. a type of fish

noun · CEFR C2 · Technical

a small type of pufferfish found in the ocean.

For teachers: 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.

## Examples

- My grandmother keeps an old toby on the kitchen shelf.
- The antique shop specialized in Victorian ceramics, including several rare toby jugs from the early nineteenth century.
- While many modern reproductions exist, a genuine eighteenth-century toby is highly prized by collectors for its intricate hand-painted details and historical glaze techniques.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.