thingumabob

British

/ ˈθɪŋəməˌbɒb /

noun

Also: thingumajig, thingamajig, thingummy. informal a person or thing the name of which is unknown, temporarily forgotten, or deliberately overlooked

"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

Etymology

Origin of thingumabob

C18: from _thing ¹ , with humorous suffix

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.

See Examples For:

thingumabob

The girl's wide-eyed tenderness had irritated and frightened him after the incident in the kitchen when they had gone searching for the thingumabob.

From Gargoyles by Ben Hecht

It had just been a game they had played while looking for the thingumabob.

From Gargoyles by Ben Hecht

"Oh, we've forgotten the thingumabob," he exclaimed, "come help me find that."

From Gargoyles by Ben Hecht

He smiled a sudden appreciation of what he was doing—trying to excuse his jilting of Henrietta—an event not far off if she persisted in holding him to the thingumabob foolishness.

From Gargoyles by Ben Hecht

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023