nutty

American  

[nuht-ee] / ˈnʌt i /

adjective

nuttier, nuttiest

1. abounding in or producing nuts.

2. nutlike, especially in flavor.

3. Slang.

   1. silly or ridiculous.

      a nutty suggestion.

   2. eccentric; queer.

   3. insane.

   4. very or excessively interested, excited, or the like.

      He's nutty about Mexican food.

4. full of flavor or zest; lively; stimulating; meaty.

   He offered several rich, nutty ideas on the subject.

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nutty British  

/ ˈnʌtɪ /

adjective

1. containing or abounding in nuts

2. resembling nuts, esp in taste

3. a slang word for insane

4. informal extremely fond (of) or enthusiastic (about)

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Other Word Forms

• nuttily adverb
• nuttiness noun

Etymology

Origin of nutty

First recorded in 1655–65; nut + -y ¹

Example Sentences

Stir in flour and cook 1–2 minutes until lightly nutty.

From Salon • Apr. 7, 2026

You probably know it already — you’ve seen oil pumpjacks laboring away in nutty places, like on the La Cienega Boulevard shortcut through Baldwin Hills to the airport.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 26, 2026

Grace dubs his new friend “Rocky,” and their trans-galactically nutty friendship is one of the most endearing relationships between man and thing since Tom Hanks met Wilson the volleyball in “Cast Away.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 18, 2026

“Things have reached such a nutty point where Caterpillar’s power and energy business has overtaken everything else the manufacturer does in terms of sales growth across all divisions,” the economist wrote.

From Barron's • Dec. 31, 2025

I hurry through breakfast, do a quick “nutty up, nutty down” with Boo, and run most of the way to school to meet Ana before class.

From "The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman" by Gennifer Choldenko

Related Words

• absurd
• batty
• crazy
• eccentric
• foolish
• kooky
• mad
• nuts
• wacky