willy
1 Americannoun
plural
williesverb (used with object)
noun
plural
williesnoun
Etymology
Origin of willy1
First recorded in 1825–35; special use of dialect willy, Old English wilige “basket” (originally one made of willow twigs); akin to willow
Origin of willy2
First recorded in 1900–05; possibly from Willy ( def. )
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Consider buddleboy, bogeyman, bumboat man, flirter, higgler, pugger, muffleman, quarrel picker, spittle-maker, whiff-maker and willy man.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 14, 2025
Maybe the next time we see them all, W. will be giving Obama a wet willy at Trump’s second inauguration.
From Slate • Jan. 9, 2025
For a while, companies like Apple wouldn’t let app developers run all willy nilly with the power to request our attention at any moment of the day.
From The Verge • Aug. 5, 2022
Just within a couple of yards of the water’s edge, the species are abundant, the nomenclature mellifluous: buttercup, foxglove, leopard’s bane, nipplewort, forget-me-not, large-leaf aven, fringe cup, sticky willy.
From Seattle Times • Jun. 11, 2022
We found her unraveling the splendid shroud, and then she had to finish, willy nilly— finish, and show the big loom woven tight from beam to beam with cloth.
From "The Odyssey" by Homer
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.