(usually foll by up) to move (an animal, esp a horse) ahead; urge on
(foll by up) to encourage (someone) to greater effort or activity
First recorded in 1620–30; origin uncertain
1890–95, euphemism for Jesus
First recorded in 1690–1700; origin uncertain
First recorded in 1935–40; spelling of the letter G, abbreviation for grand (in the sense “thousand dollars”)
First recorded in 1940–45; originally abbreviation for ground electronics engineering
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
It’s an argument that Superman’s golly gee spirit is his greatest asset, no subversion necessary.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 7, 2026
"It was like they wanted to do something, but then really didn't put the effort into it and then said, gee, it didn't work," she told AFP.
From Barron's ● Jan. 31, 2026
“And then when the finance company says, ‘Oh, gee, sorry, we can’t actually get the loan on those terms, could you sign some worse terms?’
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 27, 2025
“People that I work with around the country were saying, ‘Well, gee, why are you spending all that time in California?
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2023
“Well, gee whizz. I’m only trying to make polite bathroom talk.”
From "Franny and Zooey" by J. D. Salinger
District Judge Dolly M. Gee scolded a pair of government attorneys from her bench in Los Angeles, signaling she would probably appoint a new special master to force compliance with the settlement agreement.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2026
“I think my patience has come to an end,” Gee said during the recent hearing in her Los Angeles courtroom.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2026
Gee, thanks—not much different than popping up after flopping on the soccer pitch.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 12, 2026
You can't talk about Desmond Armstrong without mention of Jimmy Banks - or "Gee" as Armstrong affectionately calls him.
From BBC ● Jun. 6, 2026
A very talented actor played the lead character, Gee DoubleYou.
From "Dog Squad" by Chris Grabenstein
"It's about finding out what makes people tick, what motivates them. "People such as Ian Botham were good when you geed them up.
From BBC ● Jun. 30, 2015
"It's great credit to the managers down there who have really responded to the threat of relegation and geed their teams up. It's going to be a grandstand finish."
From BBC ● May 9, 2015
A giant owl mascot geed up the crowd.
From Reuters ● Mar. 24, 2014
He said he doesn't know he does it, and said: 'That's just the way I play and I have to shout to get myself geed up for a game.'
From The Guardian ● Mar. 23, 2011
Then the oxen stopped and Uncle John took the bars down out of the holes in the posts, and the oxen geed up again through the gate into the corn-field.
From The Sandman: His Farm Stories by Hopkins, William J.
You saw Walker geeing the fans up and everyone felt together.
From BBC ● Jul. 2, 2021
Eager to work on issues such as attention span, Williams turns guinea pig, submitting to magnetic brain stimulation to achieve better focus, geeing up creativity by means of electrodes over her prefrontal cortex, and more.
From Nature ● Jan. 24, 2017
The main value of celebrity campaigners is in geeing up the flagging activists who really get out the vote.
From Economist ● Apr. 23, 2015
Scott said Malone helped keep him on track, and occasionally assisted with the geeing up.
From New York Times ● Jul. 19, 2012
Usually there is much geeing and hawing, excitement, and continual noise and expletives, about a job of this kind.
From Complete Prose Works Specimen Days and Collect, November Boughs and Goodbye My Fancy by Whitman, Walt
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.
