heebie-jeebies

[hee-bee-jee-beez]

See more synonyms for heebie-jeebies on Thesaurus.com

noun (used with a plural verb) Slang.

a condition of extreme nervousness caused by fear, worry, strain, etc.; the jitters; the willies (usually preceded by the): Just thinking about ghosts gives me the heebie-jeebies.

Origin of heebie-jeebies

An Americanism dating back to 1905–10; rhyming compound coined by W. De Beck (1890–1942), American comic-strip cartoonist

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for heebie-jeebies

anxiety, jump, shiver, nerves, tremble, dither, fidget, tenseness, willies

Examples from the Web for heebie-jeebies

Historical Examples of heebie-jeebies

Whatever it is, the thing gave me the heebie-jeebies for a minute.
Dorothy Dixon and the Double Cousin
Dorothy Wayne
If it takes all this detail to fly straight and level, I'll get the heebie-jeebies when it comes to acrobatics!
Dorothy Dixon Wins Her Wings
Dorothy Wayne

British Dictionary definitions for heebie-jeebies

heebie-jeebies

pl n

the heebie-jeebies slang apprehension and nervousness

Word Origin for heebie-jeebies

C20: coined by W. De Beck (1890–1942), American cartoonist

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

Word Origin and History for heebie-jeebies

1923, said to have been coined by U.S. cartoonist Billy De Beck (1890-1942), creator of "Barney Google."