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

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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

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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

Having been turned down for National Service because of problems with his feet, he won a scholarship to the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art - which got rid of his cockney accent.

From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2025

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

There was a cockney knight called Sir Mdiagrance, who had never been happy at court.

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

As to the question of whether these younger Essex dwellers can be defined as cockneys, Dr Cole says that is not how they perceive themselves.

From BBC ● Apr. 27, 2023

"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

If there is a structural weakness with any My Fair Lady production, it's that the cockneys get all the best numbers.

From The Guardian ● Jul. 15, 2012

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

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