cockney

American  

[kok-nee] / ˈkɒk ni /

noun

cockneys plural

1. (sometimes initial capital letter) a native or inhabitant of the East End district of London, England, traditionally, one born and reared within the sound of Bow bells.

2. (sometimes initial capital letter) the pronunciation or dialect of cockneys.

3. Obsolete.

   1. a pampered child.

   2. a squeamish, affected, or effeminate person.

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adjective

1. (sometimes initial capital letter) of or relating to cockneys or their dialect.

cockney British  

/ ˈkɒknɪ /

noun

1. (often capital) a native of London, esp of the working class born in the East End, speaking a characteristic dialect of English. Traditionally defined as someone born within the sound of the bells of St Mary-le-Bow church

2. the urban dialect of London or its East End

3. a young snapper fish

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adjective

1. characteristic of cockneys or their dialect of English

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• cockneyish
  adjective
• cockneyishly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• cockneys
  plural

Etymology

Origin of cockney

1325–75; Middle English cokeney foolish person, literally, cock's egg (i.e., malformed egg), equivalent to coken, genitive plural of cok cock ¹ + ey, Old English æg; cognate with German Ei, Old Norse egg egg ¹

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

cockney cockneys

Our Gravedigger speaks to us, and to the moon, about her heart’s desire in charming cockney rhyming slang.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 27, 2026

There are a fair number of Irish accents in the mix, but I wouldn’t have been surprised if one of the actors broke out his best cockney.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 16, 2025

There is “not false or imitation: real, actual,” as in an authentic cockney accent.

From Seattle Times ● Nov. 26, 2023

"I had this idea in my head that cockney is not dead, it's just moved to Essex," she says.

From BBC ● Apr. 27, 2023

The cockney accent had disappeared; Winston suddenly realized whose voice it was that he had heard a few moments ago on the telescreen.

From "1984" by George Orwell

The famous Bow-bell-birth definition of a Cockney is attributed to a 1571 sermon: "We are thorough out all the Realme called cockneys that are borne in London, or in the sounde of Bow bell."

From BBC ● Feb. 28, 2024

Some proper cockneys starred in the next all-London affair, eight years later, as West Ham saw off a Fulham side featuring their old mucker Bobby Moore.

From The Guardian ● May 27, 2017

"There's a couple of cockneys knocking about. There's a couple of chimney sweeps too. I've seen them."

From BBC ● Jan. 30, 2015

Historically, taxi driving has been a white working-class industry, dominated by East Londoners: first, the Irish, and later, cockneys and Jews.

From New York Times ● Nov. 10, 2014

But there, in the Conqueror’s tower, a constant ebb and flow of cockneys would be livening the frost.

From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White