jenny
1 Americannoun
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the female of certain animals, especially a female donkey or a female bird.
a jenny wren.
noun
noun
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a hand-operated machine for turning up the edge of a piece of sheet metal in preparation for making a joint
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the female of certain animals or birds, esp a donkey, ass, or wren
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short for spinning jenny
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billiards snooker an in-off See long jenny short jenny
Usage
What does jenny mean? The word jenny is used to refer to certain female animals, especially a female donkey or female bird. When capitalized, Jenny is a proper name. Its sense referring to female donkeys is typically used in technical discussions of breeding. Unrelatedly, jenny can also refer to the spinning jenny, a machine for spinning yarn. Example: I raise donkeys, and our jenny just had a foal.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of jenny1
First recorded in 1590–1600; generic use of Jenny, proper name
Origin of jenny2
Shortening and alteration of Genoa
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.
And last week, Jenny Slatten of “90 Day Fiancé: The Other Way” shared her ALS diagnosis with the world.
From Los Angeles Times • May 27, 2026
Venture capitalist Jenny Stojkovic hired her son as a baby model for her media company shortly after he was born.
From MarketWatch • May 26, 2026
“This transaction represents our latest strategic investment in longer cycle, higher growth, high margin businesses aligned with our continuous focus on delivering top-quartile financial performance,” said Jenny Parmentier, Parker’s CEO, said in the statement.
From Barron's • May 21, 2026
Former education secretary Jenny Gilruth has been named deputy first minister and finance secretary.
From BBC • May 20, 2026
A holding pen for Fred while he and Jenny Yen negotiated terms for the dog’s ransom.
From "Dog Squad" by Chris Grabenstein
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.
