cocky

[kok-ee]

See more synonyms for cocky on Thesaurus.com

adjective, cock·i·er, cock·i·est.

arrogant; pertly self-assertive; conceited: He walked in with a cocky air.

Origin of cocky

First recorded in 1540–50; cock¹ + -y¹

Related formscock·i·ly, adverbcock·i·ness, noun

cocky

[kok-ee]

noun, plural cock·ies.

Australian.
1. cockatoo(def 1).
2. cockatoo(def 2a).
cockatiel.

Origin of cocky

First recorded in 1885–90; cock(atoo), cock(atiel) + -y²

cocky

[kok-ee]

verb (used without object), cock·ied, cock·y·ing. Newfoundland.

copy(def 19).

Origin of cocky

apparently a playful alteration, by association with cocky¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for cocky

brash, self-confident, presumptuous, confident, overconfident, arrogant, bumptious, certain, cocksure, conceited, know-it-all, lordly, nervy, overweening, positive, sure, vain, egotistical, smarty, hotshot

Examples from the Web for cocky

Historical Examples of cocky

Cocky Doodle had all he could do to keep the Barnyard Folk out of danger.
Little Jack Rabbit's Adventures
David Cory
Then the boy went up to the horse, and said, “Cocky, you ridem me?”
Australia Twice Traversed, The Romance of Exploration
Ernest Giles
Cocky would have called it Destiny, and Tudway, "Outside chance."
The Secrets of a Kuttite
Edward O. Mousley
Eventually the book was purchased by Cocky Jones, but not without a row.
A Holiday in Bed and Other Sketches
J. M. Barrie
Let 'em come here and match craniums with me, that they think it smart to call 'Cocky'!
Life on the Stage
Clara Morris

British Dictionary definitions for cocky

cocky

adjective cockier or cockiest

excessively proud of oneself

Derived Formscockily, adverb

cocky

noun plural cockies Australian informal

short for cockatoo (def. 2)
a farmer whose farm is regarded as small or of little account

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

Word Origin and History for cocky

adj.

"arrogantly pert," 1768; originally "lecherous" (1540s); from cock (n.1) + -y (2). Related: Cockiness.