Johnny
noun
a familiar term of address for a man or boy.
Johnny
American
[jon-ee]
/ ˈdʒɒn i /
Or
Johnnie
noun
-
Johnnies
plural
-
(sometimes lowercase) a familiar term of address for a man or boy.
-
(sometimes lowercase) a short, collarless gown that is fastened in back and is worn by hospital patients, persons being examined in a doctor's office, etc.
-
(lowercase) toilet; bathroom.
-
a male given name, form of John.
johnny
British
/ ˈdʒɒnɪ /
noun
-
informal (often capital) a man or boy; chap
-
a slang word for condom
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of Johnny
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 97-page petition accuses Janie, Joey and the other siblings Jim, Johnny and Jesse of “devious behavior” for not including Jeanie in discussions to sell the family’s last stakes in the team earlier this month.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026
During her first appearance on “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson” in 1977, the host got huge guffaws from his studio audience by inviting Parton to “Sit down and take a load off your feet.”
From Salon ● Aug. 26, 2026
Allegedly, Johnny Depp was under consideration for a time.
From Salon ● Aug. 26, 2026
Others like Roy Francis beforehand, Johnny Freeman, and Colin Dixon, also became established names, but never quite sprinkled the same stardust as Sir Billy.
From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2026
Johnny Cakes seemed to take my measure for a moment and finally nodded.
From Full of Beans by Jennifer L. Holm
Any day is a good time for a johnny cake, cornmeal flatbread topped with smoked whitefish and beads of salmon roe.
From Washington Post ● Aug. 28, 2017
Between procedures, I sit in a flimsy johnny in the waiting room, leafing through magazines.
From Salon ● Nov. 3, 2015
In Hollywood, where the dinner is $75 per person, dishes include: grilled whole lobster with saffron rice; rib-eye with Dungeness crab and béarnaise sauce; and johnny cakes with cured Arctic char and trout roe.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 16, 2014
Try me.” — johnny April 23, 2010 1:37 pm A few weeks ago, in Brooklyn Heights, I was trying to make a right turn but could not.
From New York Times ● Apr. 23, 2010
Friday evening, when the light was failing and work over johnny took the silver pitcher and his own wax model and left the shop.
From "Johnny Tremain" by Esther Hoskins Forbes
The Johnnies were lucky to escape with this win.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 23, 2026
Locals referred to them as Johnnies, a nickname that carries unsavoury connotations.
From BBC ● Sep. 20, 2025
JOHN’S: Coach Rick Pitino has built the kind of buzz around the Johnnies that hasn’t been felt since the high-flying days of Lou Carnesecca.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 17, 2025
The Johnnies also scored 22 points off 22 turnovers by the Mountaineers, who came in committing 13.1 a game.
From Washington Times ● Dec. 7, 2019
“Thing I cannot understand. Thing I never will understand. How can they fight so hard, them Johnnies, and all for slavery?”
From "The Killer Angels: The Classic Novel of the Civil War" by Michael Shaara
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.
