First recorded in 1975–80; possibly from Binky , the bucktoothed rabbit protagonist in Life in Hell , a comic book series by Matt Groening (born 1954), U.S. cartoonist
First recorded in 1935–40; origin uncertain
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
At a neighborhood barbecue, other women speak in an unfamiliar vocabulary: “Do you need a Boppy? A binky? Do you have a Tommee Tippee? A Boon Orb?”
From New York Times ● Apr. 29, 2023
Consider a toddler who calls their pacifier a "binky."
From Salon ● May 30, 2022
“I was like a kid getting his binky taken away from him,” Bazemore said.
From Washington Post ● May 17, 2021
Phil hugging Amy and their oldest daughter Amanda, and then lifting young curly-haired Sophia, a pink binky in her mouth, and saying, “Daddy won! Can you believe it?”
From Golf Digest ● Mar. 26, 2020
Perhaps none of the dread offspring archetypes--the thumb sucker, the binky addict, the colicky screamer--is more feared than the bad sleeper, and parents will try any formula that offers the prospect of some rest.
From Time Magazine Archive
A team of Deutsche Bank strategists led by Binky Chadha share this chart showing second-quarter S&P 500 earnings-growth expectations at 26.2%, double the prior record going into an earnings season outside of recession recoveries.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 1, 2026
Deutsche Bank strategists, led by Binky Chanda, think this could be a theme that repeats itself throughout the whole of the first quarter reporting season.
From Barron's ● Apr. 13, 2026
Since the white raven soared into the city this fall, it has quickly entered the ranks of legendary Anchorage animals — joining, among others, Buzzwinkle the moose, Star the reindeer, and Binky the polar bear.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 20, 2023
When the book, “You’ve Earned It, Don’t Lose It,” became a best seller, she went to meet a better-known agent, Amanda Urban, known as Binky.
From New York Times ● May 19, 2020
Hermione hesitated; then she said, “You — you were dreading Binky being killed by a fox?”
From "Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban" by J.K. Rowling
They wandered like sleep-walking children in footed pajamas, clutching their binkies to their cheeks.
From Washington Times ● Apr. 21, 2022
The pooch made a full recovery after the binkies were removed using a medical scope that didn’t require surgery.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 27, 2019
After that, I packed pacifier tethers to attach binkies to her body.
From Salon ● Jun. 10, 2017
It represents a new low in the current culture’s inability to leave behind the blankies, binkies and wubbies of one’s youth.
From Washington Post ● Feb. 24, 2016
Additionally, the number of infants receiving supplemental formula went up 10 percentage points when binkies became verboten.
From Slate ● Oct. 9, 2014
Mr. Rabbit binkying across the big carpet in our front room before surreptitiously ingesting one of its corners.
From New York Times ● Apr. 12, 2022
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.
