jigger

[jig-er]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR jigger ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a person or thing that jigs.

Nautical.

the lowermost sail set on a jiggermast.
jiggermast.
a light tackle, as a gun tackle.

any of various mechanical devices, many of which have a jerky or jolting motion.

Informal. some contrivance, article, or part that one cannot or does not name more precisely: What is that little jigger on the pistol?

Ceramics. a machine for forming plates or the like in a plaster mold rotating beneath a template.

Mining. a jig for separating ore.

a jig for fishing.

Golf. a club with an iron head intermediate between a mashie and a midiron, now rarely used.

Billiards, Pool. a bridge.

a 1½-oz. (45-ml) measure used in cocktail recipes.
a small whiskey glass holding 1½ ounces (45 ml).

Nearby words

Origin of jigger

First recorded in 1665–75; jig¹ + -er¹

jigger

[jig-er]

noun

Also called jigger flea. chigoe.

Chiefly South Midland and Southern U.S. chigger.

Origin of jigger

First recorded in 1750–60; variant of chigger

jigger

[jig-er]

verb (used with object)

to interfere with.

to manipulate or alter, especially in order to get something done illegally or unethically: to jigger company records to conceal a loss.

Origin of jigger

1865–70; jig² (in verbal sense) + -er⁶

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for jigger

Serve it as is from the pot for kids; add a jigger of rum, brandy, or Calvados for the grownups.
The Perfect Holiday Cocktail|Cookstr.com|December 15, 2009|DAILY BEAST
I mean, if I was trying to jigger into—well, I guess this is my house now, so [ laughter] it probably wouldn't happen.
Obama's Insecure Slip|Tina Brown|July 27, 2009|DAILY BEAST
“I mean, if I was trying to jigger into—well, I guess this is my house now, so it probably wouldn't happen,” he explained.
Obama's New Enemies|Richard Wolffe|July 23, 2009|DAILY BEAST
There was one jigger who seemed to have learned to do nothing but boil.
The Marvelous Exploits of Paul Bunyan|W. B. Laughead

The moveable adjuncts to the table are cues, balls, butt, and a rest or jigger.
Every Boy's Book: A Complete Encyclopdia of Sports and Amusements|Various
This has also what looks like a mizzen, but it is fixed on to the rudder and is known as a "jigger."
Golden Days for Boys and Girls, Vol. XIII, Nov. 28, 1891|Various
And these are the kind of fellows, too, who jigger our ridin' on this railroad.
Tramping with Tramps|Josiah Flynt
It was in respect to the jigger that the craft differed from a sloop-rigged yacht or boat.
Fishing With The Fly|Charles F. Orvis and Others

British Dictionary definitions for jigger

jigger

noun

a person or thing that jigs

golf an iron, now obsolete, with a thin blade, used for hitting long shots from a bare lie

any of a number of mechanical devices having a vibratory or jerking motion

a light lifting tackle used on ships

a small glass, esp for whisky, with a capacity of about one and a half ounces

NZ a light hand- or power-propelled vehicle used on railway lines

engineering a type of hydraulic lift in which a hydraulic ram operates the lift through a block and tackle which increases the length of the stroke

Canadian a device used when setting a gill net beneath ice

mining another word for jig (def. 5)

nautical short for jiggermast

billiards another word for bridge 1 (def. 10)

US and Canadian informal a device or thing the name of which is unknown or temporarily forgotten

Liverpool dialect an alleyway

noun

other names for the chigoe (def. 1)

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

Word Origin and History for jigger

jigger

"1.5-ounce shot glass," 1836, American English, in early use also of the drink itself, from jigger "illicit distillery" (1824), of unknown origin; or else perhaps from jigger, a 1756 alteration of chigger "tiny mite or flea." As a name for various appliances, the word is attested by 1825, from jig.

Medicine definitions for jigger

jigger

[jĭg′ər]

n.

chigger

chigoe

jigger

noun

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Nearby words

Origin of jigger

jigger

noun

Origin of jigger

jigger

verb (used with object)

Origin of jigger

Examples from the Web for jigger

jigger

noun

noun

jigger

jigger

n.