jimmy
noun
a short crowbar.
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jimmy
1 American
[jim-ee]
/ ˈdʒɪm i /
noun
-
jimmies
plural
-
a short crowbar.
-
a large male crab, especially of Chesapeake Bay.
verb (used with object)
-
jimmies,
present (3rd person singular)
-
jimmied,
past participle, past
-
jimmying
present participle
jimmy
2
American
[jim-ee]
/ ˈdʒɪm i /
noun
Australian Slang.
-
jimmies
plural
Jimmy
3
American
[jim-ee]
/ ˈdʒɪm i /
Or
Jimmie
noun
Jimmy
1
British
/ ˈdʒɪmɪ /
noun
jimmy
2
British
/ ˈdʒɪmɪ /
noun
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
jimmysimple
-
jimmiessimple
-
have jimmiedperfect
-
has jimmiedperfect
-
am jimmyingprogressive
-
are jimmyingprogressive
-
is jimmyingprogressive
-
have been jimmyingperfect progressive
-
has been jimmyingperfect progressive
Past
-
jimmiedsimple
-
had jimmiedperfect
-
was jimmyingprogressive
-
were jimmyingprogressive
-
had been jimmyingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of jimmy1
1840–50; generic use of Jimmy; cf. jack 1
Origin of jimmy2
1835–45; rhyming slang; Jimmy (Grant), for immigrant
Explanation
To jimmy something is to force it open. If you lock yourself out, you can jimmy a window and climb inside your house. Or you could just use that key that's hidden under a rock by the door. A thief might jimmy a car door to steal its stereo, and if you accidentally paint your kitchen window shut, you may have to jimmy it open. The verb jimmy comes from the noun jimmy, or "short crow bar," the kind of tool you'd use to jimmy something. In the 1800s, this type of crowbar was popular with burglars.
Vocabulary lists containing jimmy
The Sword of Summer
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Every Falling Star
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The Last Cuentista
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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:
A ground crew member had managed to jimmy the window open, passenger Matt Rexroad told FOX5SanDiego.com.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 27, 2023
It wasn’t really a cop show — or rather, it used that genre as a crowbar to jimmy open doors other cop shows didn’t enter: labor, education, media criticism.
From New York Times ● Jun. 2, 2022
“Unfortunately, inside of our system in certain units, our detainees have the ability to jimmy their locks,” Edwards said.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 17, 2021
“Imagine the idea of the American government convincing a foreign manufacturer to jimmy equipment in its favor,” the history says.
From Washington Post ● Feb. 11, 2020
“But one man trying to sponge Seabiscuit would have about as much chance as a kindergarten kid trying to jimmy his way into the United States mint with a fountain pen.”
From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand
On television, he won an Emmy Award in 1993 for his role as Sheriff Jimmy Brock in David E Kelley's drama Picket Fences.
From BBC ● Oct. 22, 2026
“It is like a crucible of every human emotion and psychology put together,” said Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, co-director of “Everest: The Other Side” with Jimmy Chin.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 20, 2026
A few weeks ago, Talarico went on Jimmy Kimmel’s show—that has 15 million views on YouTube.
From Slate ● Oct. 6, 2026
Matt Damon and Jimmy Kimmel, who ripped off their rivalry bit from Fred Allen and Jack Benny!
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
Two FBI agents went to interview the teachers who’d given it to Jimmy Bozart—but who remembers where they got a particular coin?
From "Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown" by Steve Sheinkin
She fashioned little carts of coke — the hard coal used to heat ore — using jimmies and dragées.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 23, 2022
A small boy appears, jimmies the flaps off with a dinner knife and instructs the man in how to make a paper airplane.
From New York Times ● Oct. 18, 2011
The real deal is a pro-biotic, slightly sour dessert that no amount of jimmies can make palatable, at least to me.
From Time ● Aug. 3, 2010
But male blue crabs, or "jimmies," take good care of their mates.
From Time Magazine Archive
He jimmies it up a few inches but then immediately shuts it when he gets dust in his eye.
From "Internment" by Samira Ahmed
I had to use the trunk opener inside the glove compartment, which, of course, had been jimmied open, and I kept closed with duct tape.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 9, 2026
In their video, posted Friday, the structure is jimmied into place under cover of darkness while one man shouts, “You can’t bring me down!”
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 7, 2020
They peered at the famous door that was jimmied during the Watergate burglary.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 31, 2019
They quickly jimmied the door open, popped the trunk and rescued a Brazilian couple, boyfriend and girlfriend, who’d paid $20,000 a piece to be smuggled to New York.
From Washington Times ● Feb. 27, 2019
“Man, you about made me piss my pants,” Dill whispered as he jimmied open the window, letting in a blast of freezing air.
From "The Serpent King" by Jeff Zentner
By now, Zhao’s at it again with the crowbar, jimmying our hearts open for one last tearjerk.
From Salon ● Nov. 30, 2025
“I wasn’t really thinking about the fight at the time,” Forsyth said of his moments jimmying his way into the FBI office.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 7, 2021
Mr. Baugh went to work, officials said, backing his truck up, jimmying the offending vehicle’s window and hastily removing the S.U.V. — with 15 seconds to spare.
From New York Times ● Sep. 17, 2015
He, then 19, was jimmying the driver’s side window with a coat hanger, having locked his keys inside.
From New York Times ● Feb. 9, 2012
When everyone ran, he followed, churning along with jimmying elbows and dropping far behind.
From "Unbroken" by Laura Hillenbrand
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
