hillbilly
Americannoun
adjective
noun
-
derogatory an unsophisticated person, esp from the mountainous areas in the southeastern US
-
another name for country and western
Sensitive Note
Hillbilly is often used with disparaging intent and perceived as insulting, implying that a person who lives far away from a town or city lacks culture or education. However, this term is also used in a humorous way without intent to offend, and it is sometimes a positive term of self-reference.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of hillbilly
Compare meaning
How does hillbilly compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
A hillbilly is a particularly unworldly country person. If you grew up in a remote rural area, visiting a big city for the first time can make you feel a bit like a hillbilly. It's not nice to call someone a hillbilly — it's an insult, implying stupidity or at least a profound lack of sophistication. You might picture a hillbilly wearing overalls and chewing tobacco, uneducated and inexperienced. Today the word includes anyone who seems to fit this stereotype, but originally it meant specifically "southern Appalachian U.S. resident," from the hilly terrain in that area and the first name Billy.
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.
No self-respecting US presidential candidate enters the race without a memoir, and Vance's new book is his second published work, following his bestselling "Hillbilly Elegy" in 2016.
From Barron's • Jun. 18, 2026
Appeared in the March 25, 2026, print edition as 'Andy Beshear’s Hillbilly Education Elegy'.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 24, 2026
Vance was raised as an evangelical in a chaotic and sometimes deprived upbringing that he described in his memoir "Hillbilly Elegy."
From Barron's • Nov. 1, 2025
Vance is also the author of the best-selling memoir Hillbilly Elegy, about his childhood in the white working-class Rust Belt.
From BBC • Nov. 6, 2024
I wasn’t Space Boy back then, I was Hillbilly Henry because of a cowboy hat I’d worn every day for weeks.
From "We Are the Ants" by Shaun David Hutchinson
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.
