dizzy
Americanadjective
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having a sensation of whirling and a tendency to fall; giddy; vertiginous.
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causing giddiness or confusion.
a dizzy height.
verb (used with object)
adjective
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affected with a whirling or reeling sensation; giddy
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mentally confused or bewildered
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causing or tending to cause vertigo or bewilderment
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informal foolish or flighty
verb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of dizzy
First recorded before 900; Middle English dysy, Old English dysig “foolish”; cognate with Low German düsig “stupefied”
Explanation
When you're dizzy, you have a spinning or woozy sensation — you might even feel like you'l fall over. You'll probably feel dizzy for a while when you get off the whirling tea cup ride at the fair. Some people feel dizzy when they're up high, either on a ladder or at the top of a tall building or bridge. Others only get dizzy when they're coming down with the flu or after riding on the merry-go-round at the park. Another way to be dizzy is to be silly or frivolous: "I can't take him seriously, he's just so dizzy all the time." Dizzy comes from the Old English dysig, "foolish or stupid."
Vocabulary lists containing dizzy
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.
Raeburn’s early big-band version of Dizzy Gillespie’s “A Night in Tunisia,” with Earl Swope playing the melody on trombone, also points forward to the end of one era and the beginning of another.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 26, 2026
He played jazz with Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, his own ensemble and in solo concerts.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 2, 2025
Dizzy Gillespie, Sarah Vaughan, Oscar Peterson and Lionel Hampton are just some of the iconic acts who played there, and Chick Corea, Peterson, Keith Jarrett and James Carter recorded live records there.
From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 11, 2025
Others, such as a big-cheeked frog named Mayra, will recall Dizzy Gillespie.
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 14, 2024
In the late 1940s, Billy Eckstine’s big band boasted among its ranks some of the rising stars of the bebop era: Blakey, Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Dexter Gordon and Fats Navarro.
From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall
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.
