willies

American

[wil-eez] / ˈwɪl iz /

noun

(used with a plural verb)

Usually the willies nervousness or fright; the jitters; the creeps.

That horror movie gave me the willies.

willies British

/ ˈwɪlɪz /

plural noun

slang nervousness, jitters, or fright (esp in the phrase give ( or get ) the willies )

"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

willies Idioms

see under the creeps.

Etymology

Origin of willies

An Americanism dating back to 1895–1900; origin obscure; -s ³

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.

But upon closer interrogation, the whole thing gave me the willies.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 14, 2026

My favorite horror movies this year laid off the flashy effects and instead gave me the unshakable willies the unshowy way: with creeping dread and uncertain stillness.

From New York Times • Dec. 19, 2022

Granted, discovering that her superfan collected one of her toenails does give the otherwise unflappable spirit a serious case of the willies.

From Salon • Dec. 29, 2021

And now we have Major League Baseball, where the piped-in synthetic applause from enthusiastic ghost crowds has given confounded viewers the willies — or at least struck some as “intellectually dishonest.”

From Washington Post • Aug. 26, 2020

He’s giving me the willies, and I’m not sure I want to be here anymore.

From "Liar & Spy" by Rebecca Stead

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023