blimey

American

[blahy-mee] / ˈblaɪ mi /

Or blimy

interjection

British Informal.

(used to express surprise or excitement.)

blimey British

/ ˈblaɪmɪ /

interjection

slang an exclamation of surprise or annoyance

"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

Etymology

Origin of blimey

1885–90; originally reduced form of blind me, as ellipsis from God blind me; gorblimey

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.

He's expected to walk through this guy but, blimey, give him two or three rounds just in case.

From BBC • Dec. 17, 2025

The idea of pregnancy being hard on the man … blimey, do we really want to go there?

From The Guardian • Sep. 12, 2018

And that’s the day when you go, Oh, blimey.

From Golf Digest • Jan. 23, 2018

Far more deserving of recrimination is the illiterate dialogue inflicted on characters like Wiggins, the footman, forced to declare: “Cor blimey, I knew this was goin’ to ’appen.

From New York Times • Dec. 20, 2017

“Cried a bit about Percy not being here, but who wants him? Oh blimey, brace yourselves—here they come, look.”

From "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" by J.K. Rowling

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023