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Ernie

American  
[ur-nee] / ˈɜr ni /

noun

  1. a male given name, form of Ernest.

  2. a female given name, form of Ernestine.


Ernie British  
/ ˈɜːnɪ /

noun

  1. (in Britain) a machine that randomly selects winning numbers of Premium Bonds

"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

Etymology

Origin of Ernie

C20: acronym of E lectronic R andom N umber I ndicator E quipment

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.

As first reported by The Wall Street Journal, the property—which sits on nearly two acres of lush land—is listed with Jon Grauman of Resident Group and Ernie Carswell of Sotheby’s International Realty.

From MarketWatch • May 19, 2026

Eric and Ernie met in 1940 when they were both teenagers and booked to perform in the same Nottingham stage show.

From BBC • May 14, 2026

When I complimented the motel sign, Novak told how, in late 2025, an older Navajo man named Ernie showed up, said he’d painted the motel sign about 40 years ago and offered to repaint it.

From Los Angeles Times • May 12, 2026

Ernie Tedeschi, chief economist at Stripe, using more sophisticated analysis than mine, calculates that gross computer spending contributed 1.7 percentage points of the first quarter’s 2% growth.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 8, 2026

Genie knew that it was only a matter of minutes before Ernie was out.

From "As Brave As You" by Jason Reynolds

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