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• dickey
  dickey

  noun

  an article of clothing made to look like the front or collar of a shirt, blouse, vest, etc., worn as a separate piece under another garment, as a jacket or dress.
• Dickey
  Dickey

  noun

  James, 1923–97, U.S. poet and novelist.

dickey

¹ American  

[dik-ee] / ˈdɪk i /

Or dicky,

noun

• dickeys
  plural

1. an article of clothing made to look like the front or collar of a shirt, blouse, vest, etc., worn as a separate piece under another garment, as a jacket or dress.

2. a detachable linen shirt collar.

3. a bib or pinafore worn by a child.

4. a small bird.

5. a donkey, especially a male.

6. an outside seat on a carriage.

7. British. rumble seat.

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dickey ² American  

[dik-ee] / ˈdɪk i /

adjective

Chiefly British Slang.

1. not working properly; faulty.

   I'm fed up with this dickey air conditioner.

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Dickey ³ American  

[dik-ee] / ˈdɪk i /

noun

1. James, 1923–97, U.S. poet and novelist.

2. William Bill, 1907–93, U.S. baseball player.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• dickeys
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of dickey¹

First recorded in 1745–55; generic use of Dicky, diminutive of Dick, proper name

Origin of dickey²

First recorded in 1805–15; origin uncertain

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

dickey Dickey dickeys

At the presentation of the Veronica Beard Spring 2016 collection in New York Tuesday, a model with her brunette hair slicked back posed in a chambray stretch-linen jacket and a satin straight-collared dickey.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2015

Online clothing retailer Shopbop gives examples of how a dickey can be worn so customers understand it.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2015

Now, in time for fall layering, the dickey comes in luxury fabrics and stylish prints.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2015

She had a short tawny coat, a dickey of shaggy hair and horns roughly the size and shape of large plantains.

From New York Times ● Jul. 3, 2014

"Then will you tell me please why you always glance about so nervously? You look like a dickey bird in a yard full of cats, as Mr. Pope would say."

From "The Shakespeare Stealer" by Gary L. Blackwood

Faith Dickey, owner of Elevate Outdoors Guiding, has guided people ages 10 to 69 on highlines set over Moab’s deep canyons.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026

According to an autopsy report issued by Montour County, Dickey was diagnosed with “exercise collapse associated with sickle cell trait,” rhabdomyolysis and acute renal failure.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026

Dickey classified the scam as “highly sophisticated” and targeted at older adults.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 13, 2026

Blink customer William Dickey decided to test the system’s AI prowess at his home in Cushing, Maine, by donning horror-movie masks from his collection, said his wife, April Dickey.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 5, 2026

Early in the book Dickey has his characters stop for directions in some “sleepy and hookwormy and ugly” town, which for all I know could have been Hiawassee.

From "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson

M. Patmos, a brand known for its soft, tailored knitwear, has included cashmere- and merino-wool dickeys in its fall collections for the past couple of years, says Marcia Patmos, the head designer.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2015

This year, she designed dickeys that should be in full view, like over a long-sleeve T-shirt.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2015

The rooms were dense with industry insiders jostling for a closer look at the Beards’ shearling coats, prairie skirts, chunky raccoon furs and, of course, their signature blazer, offered, as always, with interchangeable dickeys.

From New York Times ● Aug. 7, 2013

Fur and novelty things with fur, such as the fur dickeys we saw at Celine.

From Seattle Times ● Mar. 16, 2011

All were clad in blue or dark suits, wore flannel shirts, dickeys and no cuffs.

From A Bed of Roses by Walter Lionel George

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