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• murphy
  murphy

  noun

  an Irish or white potato.
• Murphy
  Murphy

  noun

  Frank, 1890–1949, U.S. statesman and jurist: associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court 1940–49.

murphy

¹ American  

[mur-fee] / ˈmɜr fi /

noun

• murphies
  plural

1. an Irish or white potato.

2. any of various confidence games in which a victim is left with a sealed envelope supposedly containing money, but which contains only newspaper or scrap paper cut to the same size as paper money.

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verb (used with object)

murphied, murphying

1. to victimize or dupe in such a manner.

Murphy ² American  

[mur-fee] / ˈmɜr fi /

noun

1. Frank, 1890–1949, U.S. statesman and jurist: associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court 1940–49.

2. Isaac, 1861–96, U.S. thoroughbred racehorse jockey.

3. William Parry 1892–1987, U.S. physician: Nobel Prize in medicine 1934.

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Murphy ¹ British  

/ ˈmɜːfɪ /

noun

1. Alex. born 1939, English rugby league player and coach; scored 16 tries in 27 test matches for Great Britain (1958–71)

2. Eddie, full name Edward Regan Murphy . born 1951, US film actor and comedian. His films include 48 Hours (1982), Beverly Hills Cop (1984), Coming to America (1988), Dr Dolittle (1998), and, as a voice artist, the Shrek series of animated films (2001–10)

3. William Parry. 1892–1987, US physician: with G. R. Minot, he discovered the liver treatment for anaemia and they shared, with G. H. Whipple, the Nobel prize for physiology or medicine in 1934

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murphy ² British  

/ ˈmɜːfɪ /

noun

1. a dialect or informal word for potato

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• murphies
  plural

Etymology

Origin of murphy

First recorded in 1805–15; special uses of Murphy, a typical Irish surname

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

murphy Murphy murphies

A studio apartment with a shared murphy bed became their home.

From Washington Times ● Oct. 15, 2015

A piece of sea-weed has often, heretofore, been used as a barometer; but it is only of late that this purpose has been answered by a murphy.

From The Comic Latin Grammar A new and facetious introduction to the Latin tongue by John Leech

Mike reached over and carefully selected a big murphy, which he held with the thumb of his left hand and fingers circling about it.

From The Launch Boys' Adventures in Northern Waters by Burton Donnel Hughes

Demand for artificial-intelligence-related offerings looks “exceptionally robust,” CEO Matt Murphy said in a statement Thursday.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 27, 2026

“AI-related bookings remain exceptionally robust, and we expect our revenue growth to accelerate further through the remainder of fiscal 2027,” Chief Executive Matt Murphy said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026

North London area coroner Tony Murphy ruled her cause of death was bronchopneumonia caused by fractures to her rib and sternum fractures sustained in the crash.

From BBC ● Aug. 27, 2026

Murphy said strong demand for the company’s data-center products drove the quarter’s results, with revenue there growing 46% from the previous year.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 27, 2026

“Dorothy, Mr. Yates works for my landlady, Mrs. Murphy, and is kind enough to take me to the schoolhouse each day, since I don’t drive myself.”

From "Orphan Train" by Christina Baker Kline

As far as I remimber, I began with murphies, when I was two foot high, in my father’s cabin in ould Ireland.

From Martin Rattler by R. M. (Robert Michael) Ballantyne

The rich, tawny soil seemed specially adapted to the crop; the great yellow murphies rolling out of the hills like eggs from a nest.

From Omoo by Herman Melville

As far as I remimber, I began with murphies, when I was two feet high, in my father's cabin in ould Ireland.

From Martin Rattler by R. M. (Robert Michael) Ballantyne

This was no very cruel task, for "the rich tawny soil seemed specially adapted to the crop; the great yellow murphies rolling out of the hills like eggs from a nest."

From Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 61, No. 380, June, 1847 by Various

With murphies for to ate, An' as many pigs and childer As the fingers on me fate.'

From Verse and Worse by Harry Graham

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