dilly

[ dil-ee ]

noun,plural dil·lies.Informal.
  1. something or someone regarded as remarkable, unusual, etc.: a dilly of a movie.

Origin of dilly

1
An Americanism first recorded in 1905–10; it was at first an adjective: “wonderful,” apparently a shortening of delicious, with -y1 (now taken as -y2)

Words Nearby dilly

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use dilly in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for dilly (1 of 2)

dilly1

/ (ˈdɪlɪ) /


nounplural -lies
  1. slang, mainly US and Canadian a person or thing that is remarkable

Origin of dilly

1
C20: perhaps from girl's proper name Dilly

British Dictionary definitions for dilly (2 of 2)

dilly2

/ (ˈdɪlɪ) /


adjective-lier or -liest
  1. Australian and NZ slang silly

Origin of dilly

2
C20: perhaps from silly

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012