jiffy
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of jiffy
First recorded in 1770–80; origin uncertain
Explanation
A jiffy is a brief amount of time — an instant, or a split second. When you're really tired at the end of a long day, you probably fall asleep in a jiffy after lying in bed. Jiffy is an informal word that can substitute for "quickly" or "in the blink of an eye." A speeding taxi will get you to your destination in a jiffy, and a really well-trained dog will come in a jiffy when you call her name. Not much is known about the origin of jiffy, other than the fact that it was once "thieves' slang" for "lightning."
Vocabulary lists containing jiffy
James and the Giant Peach
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Fantastic Mr. Fox
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"Dragon, Dragon"
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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.
See Examples For:
The Telegraph's Alastair Sooke compared the exhibition to music, remarking that the paintings would "be bangers, enticing you onto the dancefloor in a jiffy".
From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2024
They cool in a jiffy and are ready to serve almost as fast as you make them.
From Salon ● Nov. 2, 2023
In another jiffy, he and his master, sky high, are toasting one another and the success of their venture.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 25, 2023
However, a quantum computer would be able to factor the huge number much faster than an ordinary computer, enabling Eve to unscramble the message in a jiffy, too.
From Science Magazine ● May 5, 2022
Their troubles were all over in a jiffy.
From "James and the Giant Peach" by Roald Dahl
"I'll take it right from your own dooryard in just about two jiffies."
From The Gold Girl by Hendryx, James B. (James Beardsley)
It took about a minute and a half, which was about nine billion jiffies too long, as far as I was concerned.
From A Spaceship Named McGuire by Garrett, Randall
Now in just about two jiffies that will be ready to cut.
From Three Little Women A Story for Girls by Jackson, Gabrielle E. (Gabrielle Emilie)
I could just see myself and all of us getting a licking in about seven jiffies.
From Shenanigans at Sugar Creek by Hutchens, Paul
Well, in a few jiffies all of us boys were carrying in wood and stacking it in the back of the schoolroom where we would have plenty to keep the schoolhouse nice and warm tomorrow.
From Shenanigans at Sugar Creek by Hutchens, Paul
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.
