Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of itchy
1520–30; itch, + -y 1; compare Old English giccig (rare) purulent, putrid
Explanation
If you're itchy, you've got a rash or a spot on your skin that you really want to scratch. Mosquito bites are notoriously itchy, and the least fun thing about summer time. Poison ivy, hives, bug bites, sunburn, lice — all of these things make you itchy, and it might even make you feel itchy just to think about them. A figurative way to be itchy is to be antsy or restless, and if someone has "itchy feet," it means they like to roam or travel, staying on the move. If, on the other hand, they have "itchy palms," they can't be trusted not to steal things.
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.
People near the scene reported feeling their throat become painful and itchy, with one 70-year-old woman telling AFP that it started "stinging and hurting" as she approached the ATM.
From BBC • May 25, 2026
Women are now pursuing treatment for symptoms like hot flashes, brain fog, insomnia and dry, itchy skin.
From MarketWatch • May 12, 2026
And Wall Street had better not get me started on “exponential”—my TI trigger finger is itchy.
From Barron's • May 1, 2026
Local mosquito experts blame the unseasonable weather pattern and a thriving invasive species for the surge in itchy bites.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 27, 2026
Track batons are slippery, especially if your palms are itchy when you’re trying to grab one.
From "A Good Kind of Trouble" by Lisa Moore Ramée
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.
