hickey

or hick·ie

[ hik-ee ]

See synonyms for hickey on Thesaurus.com

noun

Slang.
- a pimple.
- a reddish mark left on the skin by a passionate kiss.
any device or gadget whose name is not known or is momentarily forgotten.

Electricity. a fitting used to mount a lighting fixture in an outlet box or on a pipe or stud.
a tool used to bend tubes and pipes.

Origin of hickey

An Americanism dating from 1905–10 of obscure origin; senses under def. 1 perhaps a separate word, though the development “device,” from “defective device,” from “defect, blemish, mark” is also possible; cf. doohickey

Words Nearby hickey

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

How to use hickey in a sentence

hickey wood pellets are fantastic for grilling chicken and pork.
Optimal Grilling Accessories and Grilling Tools For The Best Backyard BBQ | Irena Collaku | June 25, 2021 | Popular-Science
As the critic Dave hickey famously said, let art be “frivolous” enough to move us at a terrestrial level.
The Myth of the Tortured Artist | Shane McAdams | January 4, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
“We are already implementing our plan and are getting good early results,” hickey told a House oversight subcommittee July 18.
Veterans Waiting Even Longer for Benefits, Especially in Big Cities | Aaron Glantz | August 29, 2012 | THE DAILY BEAST
Your hickey in The Iceman Cometh has become legendary and most recently you played Jim Tyrone in A Moon for the Misbegotten.
Kevin Spacey on Casino Jack | Kevin Sessums | December 14, 2010 | THE DAILY BEAST
Thomas hickey, one of Washington's own guard, was proved to be a leader in the plot, and he was sentenced to be hung.
From Farm House to the White House | William M. Thayer

With a cry hickey dropped to the floor, a bullet in his leg.
The Walking Delegate | Leroy Scott
hickey stopped his groaning and rose to his elbows to watch the second round.
The Walking Delegate | Leroy Scott
The three men, and hickey from the floor, looked on curiously while Petersen obeyed.
The Walking Delegate | Leroy Scott
hickey volunteered to remain, while Sontag, Ohlsen, and Petersen should go to the brig for help.
Great Men and Famous Women. Vol. 6 of 8 | Various

British Dictionary definitions for hickey

hickey

/ (ˈhɪkɪ) /

noun

US and Canadian informal an object or gadget: used as a name when the correct name is forgotten, etc; doodah
US and Canadian informal a mark on the skin, esp a lovebite

printing a spot on a printed sheet caused by an imperfection or a speck on the printing plate

Origin of hickey

C20: of unknown origin

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

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