noggin

American  

[nog-uhn] / ˈnɒg ən /

noun

1. a small cup or mug.

2. a small amount of alcoholic liquor, usually a gill.

3. Informal. a person's head.

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noggin British  

/ ˈnɒɡɪn /

noun

1. a small quantity of spirits, usually 1 gill

2. a small mug or cup

3. an informal word for head

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Etymology

Origin of noggin

First recorded in 1620–30; origin uncertain

Explanation

Your noggin is your head. If you're not paying attention during a volleyball game, the ball might hit you right on the noggin. Your goofy uncle might say, "Let's put our noggins together and think of something fun to do today!" He means your brains, or your heads, of course. Noggin is an informal, slightly silly way to say "head." It's only had this meaning in American English since the 1860s. Earlier, noggin was slang for "a small cup, mug, or drink" in a dialect of British English. The word is still used this way in Scottish and Irish English.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

noggin

An impossible composer to pin down, Machover has written a traditional grand opera such as “Resurrection,” based on Tolstoy’s novel, and “Brain Opera,” which is just that, using electrodes on your noggin.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 20, 2025

Then she opens an upper cabinet and is pummeled in the noggin by an avalanche of unmatched Tupperware – someone else’s task left for her to do.

From Salon ● Aug. 19, 2024

As with any experimental animal, from a mouse to a monkey, the answers may hold clues about the contents of more complex creatures’ noggin, including what resides in the neural circuitry of our own head.

From Scientific American ● Aug. 21, 2023

But they at least feel great on your noggin’.

From The Verge ● Aug. 8, 2022

“Use your noggin, man. Ask the tavern keeper.”

From "Chains" by Laurie Halse Anderson