welly

American

[wel-ee] / ˈwɛl i /

Also wellie

noun

Chiefly British Informal.

plural

wellies

Usually wellies. Wellington boot.

welly British

/ ˈwɛlɪ /

noun

Also called: welly boot. informal a Wellington boot
slang energy, concentration, or commitment (esp in the phrase give it some welly )

"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 welly

First recorded in 1960–65; Well(ington boot) ( def. ) + -y ² ( def. )

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.

Back around the time of Erin Brockovich, Soderbergh gave procedurals like this righteous cinematic welly; here, he has practically accepted that he’s making a TV movie.

From The Guardian • Oct. 19, 2019

Get stuck in, lads, and give it welly.

From The Guardian • Nov. 11, 2016

The Sunderland fans have sold out the away section too and are also giving it plenty of welly.

From The Guardian • Nov. 23, 2015

Federer gets up and running with a sweet forehand that curls just inside the tramline and gets to 40-15 before an ill-advised serve-and-volley allows Berdych to welly the ball back at him, bodyline-style.

From The Guardian • Nov. 15, 2015

Consider that she welly starved in her father, the Lord Edmund's, house and I had pies and gowns for her.

From Privy Seal His Last Venture by Ford, Ford Madox

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