kelly
noun
a man's stiff hat, as a derby or straw skimmer.
kelly
1 American
[kel-ee]
/ ˈkɛl i /
noun
Slang.
-
kellies,
plural
-
kellys
plural
Kelly
2
American
[kel-ee]
/ ˈkɛl i /
noun
-
Ellsworth, 1923–2015, U.S. painter and sculptor.
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Emmett (Leo), 1898–1979, U.S. circus clown and pantomimist.
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Eugene Curran Gene, 1912–96, U.S. dancer, choreographer, actor, and director.
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George (Edward), 1887–1974, U.S. playwright and actor.
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Grace Patricia Princess Grace of Monaco, 1929–82, U.S. actress: married Prince Rainier III of Monaco 1956.
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Walt, 1913–73, U.S. cartoonist.
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Also Kellie. a male or female given name.
Kelly
British
/ ˈkɛlɪ /
noun
-
Gene, full name Eugene Curran Kelly. 1912–96, US dancer, choreographer, film actor, and director. His many films include An American in Paris (1951) and Singin' in the Rain (1952)
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Grace. 1929–82, US film actress. Her films included High Noon (1952) and High Society (1956). She married Prince Rainier III of Monaco in 1956 and died following a car crash
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Ned. 1855–80, Australian horse and cattle thief and bushranger, active in Victoria: captured by the police and hanged
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See game 1
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of kelly
First recorded in 1910–15; generic use of surname Kelly, taken as representative of a stage Irishman wearing such a derby
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:
“Hard to be brilliant if you are worrying if you look fat or why another woman hates you or why you don’t own a kelly bag,” he wrote.
From Salon ● Feb. 24, 2026
The Eagles will wear their throwback kelly green jerseys for the second time this season.
From Washington Times ● Nov. 24, 2023
With the A’s wearing kelly green jerseys for a rare road game, he allowed three runs, struck out seven and walked one.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 18, 2021
Site-specific performances quietly unfold in various corners: a young woman in a kelly green dress performs jerky, mime-like movements in the bar, pressing her palms against the translucent glass walls and playing peekaboo with passersby.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2016
Forest and pine and kelly and grass, all flowing together like a green ocean.
From "Ivy Aberdeen’s Letter to the World" by Ashley Herring Blake
Watch: What's going on between Kelly Clarkson and a Brooklyn store bird?
From BBC ● Oct. 14, 2026
“That’s just my face,” Zuckerberg tweeted Tuesday, his first comment on the viral mania, which has been rivaled this week only by Kelly Clarkson’s bizarre feud with a Brooklyn toy store over an automaton bird.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026
Theodore Boutrous, who represented the media outlets, urged Kelly to address the outlets’ arguments about violations of the First Amendment’s free-press protections.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026
“However, the negative experience Kelly described on twitter would resonate with anyone who has ever felt judged in a shop.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 12, 2026
Because the State had made Walter's affair with Karen Kelly part of its case in court, the trial had been especially difficult for Minnie.
From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson
For catching "kellies" or "killies," bait the trap with crushed clams or salt-water mussels and for fresh water shiners use mincemeat or bread crumbs and do not spill any bait outside of the trap.
From The Boy Mechanic: Volume 1 700 Things for Boys to Do by Popular Mechanics Co.
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.
