whammy

American  

[wam-ee, hwam-ee] / ˈwæm i, ˈʰwæm i /

noun

Informal.

plural

whammies

1. a devastating blow, setback, or catastrophe.

   The drought and the high price of fertilizer are a double whammy to farmers.

   The big whammy will be the coming update, which could make our software nonfunctional.

2. bad luck or misfortune.

3. Often the whammy the evil eye; jinx.

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idioms

1. put the whammy on,

   1. to give the evil eye to; jinx.

   2. to destroy, end, or eradicate.

      New controls will put the whammy on irresponsible spending.

whammy British  

/ ˈwæmɪ /

noun

1. something which has great, often negative, impact

   the double whammy of high interest rates and low wage increases

2. an evil spell or curse

   she was convinced he had put the whammy on her

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Etymology

Origin of whammy

First recorded in 1935–40; wham + -y ², after a method of jinxing someone by striking the fist into the palm

Example Sentences

Pulendran described the effect as a "double whammy."

From Science Daily • Feb. 23, 2026

Hospitality bosses say their industry faces a significant double whammy - customers with less money to spend and rising business costs including taxes, food, wages and energy.

From BBC • Feb. 13, 2026

Markets got an unwelcome triple whammy as equities, Treasuries, and the dollar all sold off Tuesday.

From Barron's • Jan. 21, 2026

Health care analysts predict hospitals and other providers will raise prices to cover the double whammy of lost Medicaid revenue and the cost of caring for an influx of newly uninsured patients.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 8, 2026

Doug got the triple whammy: glasses, braces, pimples.

From "Eleven" by Tom Rogers

Related Words

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