dickey
noun
an article of clothing made to look like the front or collar of a shirt, blouse, vest, etc., worn as a separate piece under another garment, as a jacket or dress.
dickey
1 American
[dik-ee]
/ ˈdɪk i /
Or
dicky,
noun
-
dickeys
plural
-
an article of clothing made to look like the front or collar of a shirt, blouse, vest, etc., worn as a separate piece under another garment, as a jacket or dress.
-
a detachable linen shirt collar.
-
a bib or pinafore worn by a child.
-
a small bird.
-
a donkey, especially a male.
-
an outside seat on a carriage.
-
British. rumble seat.
dickey
2
American
[dik-ee]
/ ˈdɪk i /
adjective
Chiefly British Slang.
Dickey
3
American
[dik-ee]
/ ˈdɪk i /
noun
-
James, 1923–97, U.S. poet and novelist.
-
William Bill, 1907–93, U.S. baseball player.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of dickey1
First recorded in 1745–55; generic use of Dicky, diminutive of Dick, proper name
Origin of dickey2
First recorded in 1805–15; origin uncertain
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.
See Examples For:
Now, in time for fall layering, the dickey comes in luxury fabrics and stylish prints.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2015
She has used a dickey countless times on photo shoots, she says, because it “ties together things quite nicely but doesn’t bulk up or change the silhouette.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2015
Ms. Swanson Beard and her business partner, sister-in-law Veronica Miele Beard, knew when they started their company that they had an uphill climb to bring the dickey to an upscale audience.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2015
She had a short tawny coat, a dickey of shaggy hair and horns roughly the size and shape of large plantains.
From New York Times ● Jul. 3, 2014
"Then will you tell me please why you always glance about so nervously? You look like a dickey bird in a yard full of cats, as Mr. Pope would say."
From "The Shakespeare Stealer" by Gary L. Blackwood
Faith Dickey, owner of Elevate Outdoors Guiding, has guided people ages 10 to 69 on highlines set over Moab’s deep canyons.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026
The freshman lineman was put through rigorous drills by strength and conditioning coach Mark Kulbis, according to the attorney general’s office, even though Kulbis knew Dickey Jr. had sickle-cell trait.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026
“We do this for CJ, for every young man on that team, and anyone who comes after him, and anyone at any university,” Nicole Dickey told ESPN.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026
Blink customer William Dickey decided to test the system’s AI prowess at his home in Cushing, Maine, by donning horror-movie masks from his collection, said his wife, April Dickey.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 5, 2026
Dickey, who was himself a Georgian and knew the area well, swore that his book was a faithful description.
From "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson
She knew how to poke fun at pious men in frilly dickeys, and rhapsodize on the pleasures found in everyday life.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 27, 2026
The founders of Veronica Beard have designed dozens of dickeys that zip into their jackets, including slim-cut blazers, since the inception of their company in 2010.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2015
The rooms were dense with industry insiders jostling for a closer look at the Beards’ shearling coats, prairie skirts, chunky raccoon furs and, of course, their signature blazer, offered, as always, with interchangeable dickeys.
From New York Times ● Aug. 7, 2013
Fur and novelty things with fur, such as the fur dickeys we saw at Celine.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 16, 2011
About the time we are getting used to our woollens and hot fires of the holidays, they are roasting with heat, and going around in linen jackets and wilted dickeys.
From The Humors of Falconbridge A Collection of Humorous and Every Day Scenes by Falconbridge
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.
