doozy

American  

[doo-zee] / ˈdu zi /

Or doozie

noun

• doozies
  plural

1. Also doozer something that is extraordinary or outstanding of its kind.

   The storm was a doozy, with winds of fifty miles an hour.

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verb phrase

1. doozy up to make more attractive or appealing, as by adding features or ornaments, cleaning or repairing, or clothing brightly.

   You'll have to doozy up the house before you can sell it.

doozy British  

/ ˈduːzɪ /

noun

1. slang something excellent

   the plot's a doozy

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• doozies
  plural

Etymology

Origin of doozy

First recorded in 1925–30, of uncertain origin; sometimes associated with the Duesenburg, a luxury auto, though the variant dozy precedes the appearance of the car in 1920

Explanation

When something is really extraordinary, it's a doozy. You took so many photos of your adorable new puppy — you're sure to end up with some doozies! You can use this colloquial noun in a positive or negative way, whether you're admiring a doozy of a sunset or having another doozy of an argument with your twin sister. If it's a doozy, it's really unusual or even unprecedented, and well worth remarking on. Though doozy came first, around 1903, the luxury Duesenberg automobile was nicknamed "Duesy" in homage to the word.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

doozy doozies

Supreme Court procedures and rulings can be technical and hard to understand, but this case is a doozy.

From Slate ● Aug. 24, 2026

Or should tee him up: Fonseca’s now had back-to-back five-set comebacks from two sets down, and his reward for beating Djokovic is a doozy against Casper Ruud, a two-time finalist.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 30, 2026

Investors are bracing for what could be a doozy of a trading session.

From MarketWatch ● Mar. 19, 2026

"A capstone is intended to challenge students to integrate skills, function as an effective team and demonstrate their ability to solve real problems. And this problem was a doozy."

From Science Daily ● Mar. 10, 2026

“Can you imagine? What a doozy that would be.”

From "Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus" by Dusti Bowling

To be fair, 2025 produced plenty of IPO doozies that investors would be wise to avoid until they demonstrate real technical fortitude.

From Barron's ● Jan. 23, 2026

And to make matters worse, The NY Times got a look at some of Chesebro's emails and they are doozies.

From Salon ● Oct. 20, 2023

Get through that and, well, the Chiefs have had some doozies with the Buffalo Bills and Cincinnati Bengals.

From Seattle Times ● Jan. 12, 2023

No matter the attack against him — and there were some doozies — he dispensed with them quickly.

From Washington Post ● Sep. 25, 2020

But that doesn’t mean there haven’t been some doozies along the way.

From Washington Times ● Jul. 30, 2020