welly
Americannoun
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wellies
plural
noun
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Also called: welly boot. informal a Wellington boot
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slang energy, concentration, or commitment (esp in the phrase give it some welly )
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
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.
See Examples For:
Amber said: "I caught a glimpse of a yellow welly on what appeared to be a pole in the air and then a red jacket before realising what was going on."
From BBC ● Jun. 23, 2026
He said: "Yellow wellies are synonymous with the RNLI, the iconic yellow welly forms part of the crew's safety equipment both for our shore crew and boat crew with their drysuits."
From BBC ● Jun. 23, 2026
"It was a soggy welly, with, like, Fairy Liquid and a bit of salt."
From BBC ● Apr. 17, 2026
Richard Curtis’s seasonal schmaltzfest is given real welly by Thompson’s raw performance as the bereft wife of Alan Rickman’s philandering husband.
From The Guardian ● May 9, 2019
‘It wur that dog as welly killed Moses Fletcher, wurnd it?’
From Lancashire Idylls (1898) by Marshall Mather
Biggins also claimed it was Cricket who "made wellington boots trendy" because he was well-known for wearing wellies on the wrong feet as part of his act.
From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026
"He's up there now with Ken Dodd and having a ball, making people laugh again. I'm sure he's got his silver wellies on now."
From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026
If you've been lucky enough to bag yourself tickets and are wondering what to pack, this year it may be a case of sun cream AND wellies.
From BBC ● Jun. 16, 2025
Remember to take wellies, waterproofs and warm layers in case the weather takes a turn or gets cold at night.
From BBC ● Jun. 15, 2025
I grab one of her wellies I’d packed and stuff the memo down into the toe.
From "The Bletchley Riddle" by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin
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.
