jerry
adjective
of inferior materials or workmanship.
jerry
1 American
[jer-ee]
/ ˈdʒɛr i /
adjective
Building Trades Slang.
jerry
2
American
[jer-ee]
/ ˈdʒɛr i /
noun
Chiefly British Slang.
jerries
plural
Jerry
3
American
[jer-ee]
/ ˈdʒɛr i /
Jerry
4
American
[jer-ee]
/ ˈdʒɛr i /
noun
Older Slang: Sometimes Offensive.
Jerries
plural
-
a German, especially a German soldier.
-
Germans collectively.
Jerry
1
British
/ ˈdʒɛrɪ /
noun
-
a German, esp a German soldier
-
the Germans collectively
Jerry didn't send his bombers out last night
jerry
2
British
/ ˈdʒɛrɪ /
noun
-
an informal word for chamber pot
-
short for jeroboam
Sensitive Note
Jerry was a nickname used by Allied soldiers for a German soldier during World War I, but it was more commonly used in World War II.
Etymology
Origin of jerry1
First recorded in 1875–80; short for jerry-built
Origin of jerry2
1820–30; short for Jeroboam (because if one drank such a large amount of liquid, one would have to void urine during the night)
Origin of Jerry4
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.
Left behind on the street outside the Louvre was the truck, a jerry can, a blowtorch, angle grinders, a walkie-talkie and yellow vests.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 31, 2025
A child lugs a jerry can half his size full of water.
From Seattle Times • Feb. 23, 2024
They soon came across what was left of the Reich Chancellery - the very heart of Nazi power - and, in the garden, found a couple of discarded jerry cans.
From BBC • Jun. 7, 2023
At some pumps in the commercial capital, Colombo, dozens of people stood in lines holding plastic jerry cans, as troops in combat gear and armed with assault rifles patrolled the streets.
From Reuters • May 19, 2022
Hundreds of gallons of water in ten gallon plastic jerry jugs.
From "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy
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.
