Cagney

American

[kag-nee] / ˈkæg ni /

noun

James, 1899–1986, U.S. film actor.

Cagney British

/ ˈkæɡnɪ /

noun

James. 1899–1986, US film actor, esp in gangster roles; his films include The Public Enemy (1931), Angels with Dirty Faces (1938), The Roaring Twenties (1939), and Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942) for which he won an Oscar.

"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

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.

The airport was also the site of scenes from many other early films, including 1930’s “Hell’s Angels,” produced by Howard Hughes, and 1933’s “Lady Killer,” starring James Cagney.

From Los Angeles Times

Cagney won his only Oscar for the exuberant role.

From Los Angeles Times

John Wayne is old school, but I remember reading someone asking Lee Strasberg who were the actors he admired, and he said, “John Wayne, Jimmy Cagney.”

From Salon

Jimmy Cagney’s old schmaltz vehicle "Yankee Doodle Dandy" looks restrained by comparison.

From Salon

She’s also received six Emmy awards for her television work, including four for lead actress for her role as Detective Mary Beth Lacey in the crime drama “Cagney & Lacey.”

From Los Angeles Times

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