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• Derby
  Derby

  noun

  a city in Derbyshire in central England.
• derby
  derby

  noun

  a stiff felt hat with a rounded crown and narrow curved brim

Derby

¹ American  

[dur-bee, dahr-bee] / ˈdɜr bi, ˈdɑr bi /

noun

1. a city in Derbyshire in central England.

2. Derbyshire.

3. a city in S Connecticut.

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Derby ² American  

[dur-bee, dahr-bee] / ˈdɜr bi, ˈdɑr bi /

noun

• Derbies
  plural

1. a race for three-year-old horses that is run annually at Epsom Downs, near London, England: first run in 1780.

2. any of certain other important annual horse races, usually for three-year-old horses, especially the Kentucky Derby.

3. (lowercase) a race or contest, usually one open to all who wish to enter and offering a prize for the winner.

4. (lowercase) any endeavor or venture regarded as a competition.

   to win the gubernatorial derby.

5. Also called bowler. (lowercase) a stiff felt hat with rounded crown and narrow brim, worn chiefly by men.

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Derby ¹ British  

/ ˈdɑːbɪ /

noun

1. a city in central England, in Derby unitary authority, Derbyshire: engineering industries (esp aircraft engines and railway rolling stock); university (1991). Pop: 229 407 (2001)

2. a unitary authority in central England, in Derbyshire. Pop: 233 200 (2003 est). Area: 78 sq km (30 sq miles)

3. a firm-textured pale-coloured type of cheese

4. a green-and-white Derby cheese flavoured with sage

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Derby ² British  

/ ˈdɜːrbɪ, ˈdɑːbɪ /

noun

1. an annual horse race run at Epsom Downs, Surrey, since 1780: one of the English flat-racing classics

2. any of various other horse races

3. a football match between two teams from the same area

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Derby ³ British  

/ ˈdɑːbɪ /

noun

1. Earl of. title of Edward George Geoffrey Smith Stanley. 1799–1869, British statesman; Conservative prime minister (1852; 1858–59; 1866–68)

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derby ⁴ British  

/ ˈdɜːrbɪ /

noun

1. Also called (in Britain and certain other countries): bowler. a stiff felt hat with a rounded crown and narrow curved brim

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• Derbies
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of Derby

First recorded in 1830–40; after Edward Stanley, 12th Earl of Derby (died 1834), who instituted the race

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Explanation

A derby is a type of hat that's round, felt, stiff, and has a narrow brim. Wear one with a little mustache and a cane, and you’ll look just like Charlie Chaplin. A derby, as the distinctive round hat with a little brim, was made in the U.S. in the 1850s, but it’s probably named after the Derby horse race in England, where men wore this kind of hat. The race was named after the 12th Earl of Derby. A derby can also be called a bowler, bowler hat, derby hat, or plug hat. Derbies are kind of old-fashioned, so you probably won't see anyone wearing one these days.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Derby derby Derbies

She’s since gone with them to the Kentucky Derby, a Hilary Duff concert, a local street festival and, most recently, a pumpkin patch.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 21, 2026

Paxton met Duhon, a Christian influencer who became his girlfriend, at the Kentucky Derby in 2024, people with knowledge of the relationship said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026

The FA did not charge Leeds United's former manager Marcelo Bielsa after the club were found guilty of spying on Derby in 2019, instead issuing a formal warning.

From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026

A life-size bronze statue of California’s first Kentucky Derby winner was stolen last week from a road median in north Sacramento.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 4, 2026

The work paid off: Fitzsimmons had cultivated the talents of myriad champions, including Gallant Fox and Omaha, two of the first three horses to sweep the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and Belmont Stakes—the Triple Crown.

From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand

Confidence was at an all-time low and a high-stakes north London derby was not the ideal game to go into with no momentum.

From BBC ● Oct. 24, 2026

More than 11,000 attended the local derby against city rivals Chemie Leipzig.

From BBC ● Oct. 2, 2026

Brown was impressed by Rangers manager Derek McInnes' change of approach in the season's first derby, change to a 3-5-2 shape and going man for man with Celtic's front three.

From BBC ● Sep. 19, 2026

"I think that derby will be remembered by City fans for a long time," Marr told BBC Sport.

From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026

Just before Grandma turned to see us, I took off the derby hat.

From "A Long Way from Chicago" by Richard Peck

"Derbies, you have to win, it does not matter how," said captain Granit Xhaka to Sky Sports.

From BBC ● Dec. 14, 2025

Track officials were hoping to avoid the distractions that came with the last few Derbies and for the most part were successful.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 4, 2024

Yakteen has been to plenty of Derbies but this is only his second as the head trainer.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 3, 2023

In other words, stalkers such as Messier win far more than their share of Kentucky Derbies.

From Washington Post ● May 5, 2022

I had not much time to spare when we went into Pretoria, but could not help stopping to watch a couple of regiments go through—the Derbies with their band and the Camerons with their pipers.

From A Yeoman's Letters Third Edition by P. T. Ross

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