donkey

[ dong-kee, dawng-, duhng- ]

/ ˈdɒŋ ki, ˈdɔŋ-, ˈdʌŋ- /

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See synonyms for donkey on Thesaurus.com

noun, plural don·keys.

the domestic ass, Equus asinus.

(since 1874) a representation of this animal as the emblem of the U.S. Democratic Party.

a stupid, silly, or obstinate person.

a woodworking apparatus consisting of a clamping frame and saw, used for cutting marquetry veneers.

adjective

Machinery. auxiliary: donkey engine; donkey pump; donkey boiler.

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Origin of donkey

First recorded in 1775–85; of uncertain origin; perhaps alteration of Dunkey, diminutive name or pet form of Duncan, man's name; perhaps a derivative of dun “dull, grayish brown”

Words nearby donkey

Dönitz, Donizetti, donjon, Don Juan, Don Juanism, donkey, donkey derby, donkey engine, donkey jacket, donkey-lick, donkey's years

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use donkey in a sentence

If memory serves, donkey dung doesn’t broadcast itself with anything like the strength of horse dung.
Readers react to the history of plate tectonics, pandas rolling in poop and more|Science News Staff|February 21, 2021|Science News
These are your site’s biggest donkeys, the pages with the highest number of impressions but deliver lower than expected CTR for their ranking position.
Five hacks to enhance your organic CTR and rankings in SERPs|Karl Tablante|January 27, 2021|Search Engine Watch
My husband wrote a note apologizing that the camel and donkey mates were missing.
The pandemic gave me the time to finally clean out my shameful attic. Here’s what I learned.|Jura Koncius|January 21, 2021|Washington Post
Cars, buses, truck—even motorcycles, bicycles and donkeys—may be required to get the vaccine to rural areas.
Airlines are facing ‘mission of the century’ in shipping COVID vaccines|McKenna Moore|December 1, 2020|Fortune

Sixteen contenders — mostly dogs, with one donkey, a rooster and a cat in the mix — fought hard for the title of mayor.
After a tight race, a French bulldog was elected mayor of this small Kentucky town|Sydney Page|November 9, 2020|Washington Post
Nearby a family of Turkish Kurds busied themselves in their fields piling vegetables onto a donkey-drawn cart.
Impotent U.S. Airstrikes, Passive Turks and an ISIS Triumph|Jamie Dettmer|October 3, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In the second instance, it is a man and his wife pleading from atop a donkey.
Whatever You Do Someone Will Die. A Short Story About Impossible Choices in Iraq|Nathan Bradley Bethea|August 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He patrolled on foot, and Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) filled the donkey paths that crisscrossed the wadis and hills.
How a Thumb-Sized Gauge Is Revolutionizing Traumatic Brain Injuries|Brian Castner|March 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
For the donkeys who have long felt that Donkey Ball should not be real, 2014 earns an A-.
How Is 2014 Going? An Early Review|Kelly Williams Brown|January 4, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He was painting the Sistine Chapel, and he was angry at one of the bishops or cardinals, so he painted him in with donkey ears.
Interview: T Bone Burnett, the Coen Brothers’ Music Guru|Andrew Romano|December 13, 2013|DAILY BEAST
His donkey stumbled—it was natural enough, seeing that the reins hung loose and his feet had somehow left the stirrups.
The Wave|Algernon Blackwood
His donkey had gone lame, he abandoned it to the boys behind, he climbed in to drive with Lettice.
The Wave|Algernon Blackwood
Ibrahim stopped his song to sigh, and struck his donkey lightly under the right ear, causing it to turn sharply to the left.
Bella Donna|Robert Hichens
And now Ibrahim struck his donkey again, and they went on rapidly towards the Libyan mountains.
Bella Donna|Robert Hichens
Could all these people read her mind and follow the track of her distastes and desires, even the dragomans and the donkey-boys?
Bella Donna|Robert Hichens

British Dictionary definitions for donkey

donkey

/ (ˈdɒŋkɪ) /

noun

Also called: ass a long-eared domesticated member of the horse family (Equidae), descended from the African wild ass (Equus asinus)

a stupid or stubborn person

British slang, derogatory a footballer known for his or her lack of skillthe players are a bunch of overpriced and overrated donkeys

talk the hind leg(s) off a donkey to talk endlessly

Word Origin for donkey

C18: perhaps from dun dark + -key, as in monkey

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

Cultural definitions for donkey

donkey

A symbol (see also symbol) of the Democratic party, introduced in a series of political cartoons by Thomas Nast during the congressional elections of 1874. (Compare elephant.)

donkey

Origin of donkey

Words nearby donkey

Words related to donkey

How to use donkey in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for donkey

Word Origin for donkey

Cultural definitions for donkey