dingus

American  

[ding-guhs] / ˈdɪŋ gəs /

noun

Informal.

plural

dinguses

1. a gadget, device, or object whose name is unknown or forgotten.

   We're missing the little dingus that makes the cable work.

2. a foolish, stupid, or inept person; doofus.

   I'm a complete dingus when it comes to math.

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Usage

What does dingus mean? Dingus is a very informal word for an object whose name you don’t know, have forgotten, or can’t recall at the moment.It’s often used to refer to gadgets or parts of things that might not even have a commonly known name, as in Before we attach the bracket, we have to insert this dingus here. There are several other similarly informal words that are used in the same way , including thingy, thingamajig, thingamabob, doohickey, doodad, whachamacallit, and whatsit.Example: My kids got me one of those dinguses that track your steps. What’s it called? A stepometer?

Etymology

Origin of dingus

First recorded in 1870–75; from Dutch dinges or its source, German Dinges, probably originally genitive, with partitive value, of Ding thing ¹

Example Sentences

“We knew what you meant, dingus.”

From Literature

That year, the organization brought on its first salaried staff members, including Korman and Dingus.

From Slate

But according to Dingus, Korman was open to talking about it.

From Slate

She sat down with Dingus and Hurley for a nuanced conversation about what kind of message would be appropriate.

From Slate

But apart from one donor, Dingus said, “the people we heard from were her family and friends. And that part was really strange.”

From Slate