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navvy

[ nav-ee ]
/ ˈnæv i /
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See synonyms for navvy on Thesaurus.com
noun, plural nav·vies.British Informal.
an unskilled manual laborer.
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Origin of navvy

First recorded in 1825–35; short for navigator

Words nearby navvy

navigator, Návpaktos, Navratilova, NAVSAT, NAVSTAR Global Positioning System, navvy, navy, navy bean, navy blue, Navy Cross, navy cut
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Words related to navvy

laborer, roustabout

How to use navvy in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for navvy

navvy
/ (ˈnævɪ) /
noun plural -vies
British informal a labourer on a building site, excavations, etc

Word Origin for navvy

C19: shortened from navigator, builder of a navigation (sense 4)
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
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