Emmy
Americannoun
plural
Emmys-
(sometimes lowercase) any of several statuettes awarded annually by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences for excellence in television programming, production, or performance.
-
Also Emmie a female given name, form of Emma.
noun
Usage
What are the Emmys? The Emmys is another name for the Emmy Awards, an annual award ceremony to honor excellence in television programming and production. The name Emmys most commonly refers to the Primetime Emmy Awards, which honor primetime programming, but there are also other events devoted to specific forms of programming, including the Daytime Emmys, the Sports Emmys, and the News and Documentary Emmys. The statuette awarded to winners is officially called an Emmy Award but is often referred to as an Emmy for short. The plural form Emmys is commonly used. Primetime Emmys are awarded to actors, writers, and to those in technical and production roles, as well as for specific series, including for drama, comedy, variety, and limited series. The Emmy Awards are held by the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, an organization for television industry professionals that’s often simply called the Television Academy.
Etymology
Origin of Emmy
C20: alteration of Immy, short for image orthicon tube
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.
Sarah Pidgeon carried ‘Love Story,’ and Sarah Snook and Claire Danes are both past Emmy winners that were on very watchable crime thrillers, so their chances of landing a nomination are also pretty strong.”
From Los Angeles Times • May 19, 2026
The morning after the 2019 Emmy Awards, Anna Konkle was driving to work when she got a concerning call from her father.
From Los Angeles Times • May 5, 2026
Netflix certainly has high hopes, and is positioning the show as a strong Emmy contender.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 30, 2026
The White Lotus is one of the most popular dramas of recent years, having won numerous Emmy Awards, with each season set in an upmarket hotel in a different resort around the world.
From BBC • Apr. 29, 2026
Emmy offered to work for me today, but I said no, I can handle it.
From "How It Went Down" by Kekla Magoon
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.
