welly
Americannoun
plural
welliesnoun
-
Also called: welly boot. informal a Wellington boot
-
slang energy, concentration, or commitment (esp in the phrase give it some welly )
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.
"It was a soggy welly, with, like, Fairy Liquid and a bit of salt."
From BBC • Apr. 17, 2026
She gives it her usual amount of welly, but the film suffers a bit from heat exhaustion.
From The Guardian • Jan. 16, 2020
She’s really giving it some welly … Where’s Nicki?
From The Guardian • Nov. 22, 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
A person exceedingly hungry says, "I'm welly clem'd; I'm almost or well-nigh starved."
From Notes and Queries, Number 194, July 16, 1853 A Medium of Inter-communication for Literary Men, Artists, Antiquaries, Genealogists, etc by Bell, George
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.
