willy
noun
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willy
1 American
[wil-ee]
/ ˈwɪl i /
Or
willey
noun
-
willies
plural
verb (used with object)
willied,
willying
willy
2
American
[wil-ee]
/ ˈwɪl i /
noun
Chiefly British Slang.
-
willies
plural
Willy
3
American
[wil-ee]
/ ˈwɪl i /
willy
British
/ ˈwɪlɪ /
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of willy1
First recorded in 1825–35; special use of dialect willy, Old English wilige “basket” (originally one made of willow twigs); akin to willow
Origin of willy2
First recorded in 1900–05; possibly from Willy ( 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:
Consider buddleboy, bogeyman, bumboat man, flirter, higgler, pugger, muffleman, quarrel picker, spittle-maker, whiff-maker and willy man.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 14, 2025
Maybe the next time we see them all, W. will be giving Obama a wet willy at Trump’s second inauguration.
From Slate ● Jan. 9, 2025
For a while, companies like Apple wouldn’t let app developers run all willy nilly with the power to request our attention at any moment of the day.
From The Verge ● Aug. 5, 2022
Just within a couple of yards of the water’s edge, the species are abundant, the nomenclature mellifluous: buttercup, foxglove, leopard’s bane, nipplewort, forget-me-not, large-leaf aven, fringe cup, sticky willy.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 11, 2022
We found her unraveling the splendid shroud, and then she had to finish, willy nilly— finish, and show the big loom woven tight from beam to beam with cloth.
From "The Odyssey" by Homer
To those who have one, like Emily Mae Heller, “It’s like getting Willy Wonka’s golden ticket.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 21, 2026
An original Oompa Loompa actor from the 1971 film Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory has retired after reprising the role one final time.
From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2026
"I was brought into the world in case something happened to Willy."
From Barron's ● Aug. 21, 2026
Taylor-Joy says she wanted to act after seeing the movie Free Willy and is drawn to otherworldly creatures.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026
Little Willy lived with his grandfather on a small potato farm in Wyoming.
From "Stone Fox" by John Reynolds Gardiner
But upon closer interrogation, the whole thing gave me the willies.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 14, 2026
My favorite horror movies this year laid off the flashy effects and instead gave me the unshakable willies the unshowy way: with creeping dread and uncertain stillness.
From New York Times ● Dec. 19, 2022
Granted, discovering that her superfan collected one of her toenails does give the otherwise unflappable spirit a serious case of the willies.
From Salon ● Dec. 29, 2021
And now we have Major League Baseball, where the piped-in synthetic applause from enthusiastic ghost crowds has given confounded viewers the willies — or at least struck some as “intellectually dishonest.”
From Washington Post ● Aug. 26, 2020
There’s this wicked glint in her eye that gives me the willies.
From "Odd One Out" by Nic Stone
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
