billingsgate
[ bil-ingz-geyt or, especially British, -git ]
/ ˈbɪl ɪŋzˌgeɪt or, especially British, -gɪt /
Save This Word!
noun
coarsely or vulgarly abusive language.
SYNONYMS FOR billingsgate
QUIZZES
THINK YOU’VE GOT A HANDLE ON THIS US STATE NICKNAME QUIZ?
Did you ever collect all those state quarters? Put them to good use on this quiz about curious state monikers and the facts around them.
Question 1 of 8
Mississippi’s nickname comes from the magnificent trees that grow there. What is it?
Origin of billingsgate
First recorded in 1645–55; originally the kind of speech often heard at Billingsgate, a London fish market at the gate of the same name
Words nearby billingsgate
Billie, billing, billing cycle, billing machine, Billings, billingsgate, Billings method, billion, billionaire, Billiton, billman
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021
Example sentences from the Web for billingsgate
British Dictionary definitions for billingsgate (1 of 2)
billingsgate
/ (ˈbɪlɪŋzˌɡeɪt) /
noun
obscene or abusive language
Word Origin for billingsgate
C17: after Billingsgate, which was notorious for such language
British Dictionary definitions for billingsgate (2 of 2)
Billingsgate
/ (ˈbɪlɪŋɡzˌɡeɪt) /
noun
the largest fish market in London, on the N bank of the River Thames; moved to new site at Canary Wharf in 1982 and the former building converted into offices
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012