First recorded in 1940–45; apparently after a proper name
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
It was so unlike the ham sandwich I had grown up with, which was made on a soft grocery-store baguette and contained mayonnaise, ham and colby cheese.
From Washington Post ● Oct. 13, 2022
Unless there’s a sale, you’ll probably never find wedges of blue cheese priced similarly to bricks of colby jack or squares of American.
From Washington Post ● Sep. 8, 2021
The measure makes colby, which was created in Wisconsin more than 100 years ago, the official cheese.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 7, 2021
For the unfamiliar, colby is generally thought of as a milder form of cheddar but has more texture and tastes sweeter.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 7, 2021
Sprinkle 1/2 cup colby jack over the top.
From Washington Times ● Aug. 13, 2018
Elbridge Colby, the Pentagon’s undersecretary of defense for policy, rebuked Canada in May, saying that the country had “failed to make credible progress on its defense commitments.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 6, 2026
In his years in and out of the Pentagon, Colby has been seen as a prioritizer who favors limiting U.S. obligations outside Asia, to free up resources to counter Beijing.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 3, 2026
At 58, Susan Lee Colby founded Grace Creative LA, an advertising agency focused on the 50-and-older market, because, she said, she had “aged out” of traditional advertising agencies.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 1, 2026
In the bottom of the inning, the A’s also bunched four hits, including a Colby Thomas home run, to take a 3-2 lead.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 30, 2026
It reminded me of my first day in Colby, when Gus had told me why these are called the Blue Ridge Mountains.
From "Wish" by Barbara O'Connor
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
