Nellie
Americannoun
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a female given name, form of Helen.
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(often lowercase)
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Offensive. a fussily effeminate male.
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Extremely Disparaging and Offensive. a contemptuous term used to refer to a gay man.
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Etymology
Origin of Nellie
First recorded in 1930–35 Nellie for def. 2
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.
In 1993, Kelly joined the cast of EastEnders as Nellie Ellis - the sharp-tongued relative of Pauline Fowler.
From BBC • Feb. 4, 2026
In 2024, she was awarded the prestigious Nellie Bly Award for her reporting on the intersection of gambling and investing.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 23, 2026
Weiss founded the Free Press with her wife, Nellie Bowles, who writes the humorous “TGIF” column, and with whom Weiss has 1- and 3-year-old children.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 6, 2025
Her hand-dyed wool company, Nellie and Eve, in Carmarthenshire, west Wales, used to make about 30% of its sales to the US - but she has put them on hold.
From BBC • Aug. 29, 2025
“Have you not heard of Nellie Bly or Annie Laurie?” she said incredulously.
From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros
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.
