jitney
Americannoun
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a small bus or car following a regular route along which it picks up and discharges passengers, originally charging each passenger five cents.
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Older Slang. a nickel; five-cent piece.
verb (used with or without object)
noun
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a small bus that carries passengers for a low price, originally five cents
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slang a nickel; five cents
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of jitney
1900–05, of obscure origin; French jeton jetton is a phonetically implausible source
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.
“When I was younger and couldn’t afford an actual vacation, I would bring my toddler on an adventure I called ‘the bus to the boat to the jitney to the beach,’ ” Coven said.
From Seattle Times • Jul. 18, 2023
This is the dramatic context for this jitney station, which is about to be boarded up by the city so that it can eventually be torn down.
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 25, 2019
It's not right that these jitney services worsen just getting around for most of us.
From New York Times • May 15, 2018
The jitney came and she didn’t have long to wait; the hotel was a new one, surprisingly close by.
From Slate • Mar. 26, 2018
The jitney, which is what rich people call the shuttle, goes up at seven, and I can drop the pieces off then.
From "Landscape with Invisible Hand" by M.T. Anderson
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.
