jerry

¹ American  

[jer-ee] / ˈdʒɛr i /

adjective

Building Trades Slang.

1. of inferior materials or workmanship.

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jerry ² American  

[jer-ee] / ˈdʒɛr i /

noun

Chiefly British Slang.

plural

jerries

1. a chamber pot.

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Jerry ³ American  

[jer-ee] / ˈdʒɛr i /

noun

1. a male given name, form of Gerald, Gerard, Jeremiah, and Jerome.

2. a female given name, form of Geraldine.

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Jerry ⁴ American  

[jer-ee] / ˈdʒɛr i /

noun

Older Slang: Sometimes Offensive.

plural

Jerries

1. a German, especially a German soldier.

2. Germans collectively.

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Jerry ¹ British  

/ ˈdʒɛrɪ /

noun

1. a German, esp a German soldier

2. the Germans collectively

   Jerry didn't send his bombers out last night

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jerry ² British  

/ ˈdʒɛrɪ /

noun

1. an informal word for chamber pot

2. short for jeroboam

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Sensitive Note

Jerry was a nickname used by Allied soldiers for a German soldier during World War I, but it was more commonly used in World War II.

Etymology

Origin of jerry¹

First recorded in 1875–80; short for jerry-built

Origin of jerry²

1820–30; short for Jeroboam (because if one drank such a large amount of liquid, one would have to void urine during the night)

Origin of Jerry⁴

First recorded in 1910–15; Ger(man) + -y ¹

Example Sentences

Left behind on the street outside the Louvre was the truck, a jerry can, a blowtorch, angle grinders, a walkie-talkie and yellow vests.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 31, 2025

A child lugs a jerry can half his size full of water.

From Seattle Times • Feb. 23, 2024

They pulled him in his cart loaded with its 20 jerry cans to all his customers.

From BBC • Feb. 15, 2024

A lengthy line of yellow, black, green and blue jerry cans were placed in a tidy line as people settled in for hours of waiting to get a meagre ration.

From Reuters • Nov. 7, 2023

Hundreds of gallons of water in ten gallon plastic jerry jugs.

From "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy