"doohickey" meaning in English

See doohickey in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Noun

IPA: /ˈduhɪki/ [US] Audio: en-us-doohickey.ogg Forms: doohickeys [plural]
Etymology: First attested 1914, of uncertain origin, probably from doodad + hickey. Head templates: {{en-noun}} doohickey (plural doohickeys)
  1. (slang, originally US) A thing (used in a vague way to refer to something whose name one does not know or cannot recall) Tags: slang Synonyms: thingy, dohickey, do-hickey, doo-hickey, do-hinky, doohinky Translations (a thing): dinges [masculine] (Dutch), umo (Esperanto), vehje (Finnish), vekotin (Finnish), hilavitkutin (Finnish), truc [masculine] (French), machin [masculine] (French), Dingsbums (German), Dingsda (German), coso (Italian), mea (Maori), wihajster [masculine] (Polish), coisa [feminine] (Portuguese), negócio [masculine] (Portuguese), trem [masculine] (Portuguese), troço [masculine] (Portuguese), treco [masculine] (Portuguese), штуко́вина (štukóvina) [feminine] (Russian), stvarčica [feminine] (Serbo-Croatian), grunka (Swedish), mackapär (Swedish), manick (Swedish), mojäng (Swedish), pryl (Swedish), sak (Swedish), ting (Swedish), tingest (Swedish), samting (Tok Pisin)

Inflected forms

Alternative forms

{
  "etymology_text": "First attested 1914, of uncertain origin, probably from doodad + hickey.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "doohickeys",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "doohickey (plural doohickeys)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "American English",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        },
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          "parents": [],
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        },
        {
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        },
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        },
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          "name": "Terms with Dutch translations",
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        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Esperanto translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Finnish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with French translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with German translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Italian translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Maori translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Polish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Portuguese translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Russian translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Serbo-Croatian translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Swedish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Tok Pisin translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "What does this doohickey do?",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A thing (used in a vague way to refer to something whose name one does not know or cannot recall)"
      ],
      "id": "en-doohickey-en-noun-yjwP4f~B",
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(slang, originally US) A thing (used in a vague way to refer to something whose name one does not know or cannot recall)"
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "thingy"
        },
        {
          "word": "dohickey"
        },
        {
          "word": "do-hickey"
        },
        {
          "word": "doo-hickey"
        },
        {
          "word": "do-hinky"
        },
        {
          "word": "doohinky"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "slang"
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "code": "nl",
          "lang": "Dutch",
          "sense": "a thing",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "dinges"
        },
        {
          "code": "eo",
          "lang": "Esperanto",
          "sense": "a thing",
          "word": "umo"
        },
        {
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "a thing",
          "word": "vehje"
        },
        {
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "a thing",
          "word": "vekotin"
        },
        {
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "a thing",
          "word": "hilavitkutin"
        },
        {
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "a thing",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "truc"
        },
        {
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "a thing",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "machin"
        },
        {
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "a thing",
          "word": "Dingsbums"
        },
        {
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "a thing",
          "word": "Dingsda"
        },
        {
          "code": "it",
          "lang": "Italian",
          "sense": "a thing",
          "word": "coso"
        },
        {
          "code": "mi",
          "lang": "Maori",
          "sense": "a thing",
          "word": "mea"
        },
        {
          "code": "pl",
          "lang": "Polish",
          "sense": "a thing",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "wihajster"
        },
        {
          "code": "pt",
          "lang": "Portuguese",
          "sense": "a thing",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "coisa"
        },
        {
          "code": "pt",
          "lang": "Portuguese",
          "sense": "a thing",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "negócio"
        },
        {
          "code": "pt",
          "lang": "Portuguese",
          "sense": "a thing",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "trem"
        },
        {
          "code": "pt",
          "lang": "Portuguese",
          "sense": "a thing",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "troço"
        },
        {
          "code": "pt",
          "lang": "Portuguese",
          "sense": "a thing",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "treco"
        },
        {
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "roman": "štukóvina",
          "sense": "a thing",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "штуко́вина"
        },
        {
          "code": "sh",
          "lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
          "sense": "a thing",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "stvarčica"
        },
        {
          "code": "sv",
          "lang": "Swedish",
          "sense": "a thing",
          "word": "grunka"
        },
        {
          "code": "sv",
          "lang": "Swedish",
          "sense": "a thing",
          "word": "mackapär"
        },
        {
          "code": "sv",
          "lang": "Swedish",
          "sense": "a thing",
          "word": "manick"
        },
        {
          "code": "sv",
          "lang": "Swedish",
          "sense": "a thing",
          "word": "mojäng"
        },
        {
          "code": "sv",
          "lang": "Swedish",
          "sense": "a thing",
          "word": "pryl"
        },
        {
          "code": "sv",
          "lang": "Swedish",
          "sense": "a thing",
          "word": "sak"
        },
        {
          "code": "sv",
          "lang": "Swedish",
          "sense": "a thing",
          "word": "ting"
        },
        {
          "code": "sv",
          "lang": "Swedish",
          "sense": "a thing",
          "word": "tingest"
        },
        {
          "code": "tpi",
          "lang": "Tok Pisin",
          "sense": "a thing",
          "word": "samting"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈduhɪki/",
      "tags": [
        "US"
      ]
    },
    {
      "audio": "en-us-doohickey.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/b/bb/En-us-doohickey.ogg/En-us-doohickey.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bb/En-us-doohickey.ogg"
    }
  ],
  "word": "doohickey"
}
{
  "etymology_text": "First attested 1914, of uncertain origin, probably from doodad + hickey.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "doohickeys",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "doohickey (plural doohickeys)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
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        "American English",
        "English countable nouns",
        "English entries with incorrect language header",
        "English lemmas",
        "English nouns",
        "English placeholder terms",
        "English slang",
        "English terms with usage examples",
        "Entries with translation boxes",
        "Pages with 1 entry",
        "Pages with entries",
        "Terms with Dutch translations",
        "Terms with Esperanto translations",
        "Terms with Finnish translations",
        "Terms with French translations",
        "Terms with German translations",
        "Terms with Italian translations",
        "Terms with Maori translations",
        "Terms with Polish translations",
        "Terms with Portuguese translations",
        "Terms with Russian translations",
        "Terms with Serbo-Croatian translations",
        "Terms with Swedish translations",
        "Terms with Tok Pisin translations"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "What does this doohickey do?",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A thing (used in a vague way to refer to something whose name one does not know or cannot recall)"
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(slang, originally US) A thing (used in a vague way to refer to something whose name one does not know or cannot recall)"
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "thingy"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "slang"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈduhɪki/",
      "tags": [
        "US"
      ]
    },
    {
      "audio": "en-us-doohickey.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/b/bb/En-us-doohickey.ogg/En-us-doohickey.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bb/En-us-doohickey.ogg"
    }
  ],
  "synonyms": [
    {
      "word": "dohickey"
    },
    {
      "word": "do-hickey"
    },
    {
      "word": "doo-hickey"
    },
    {
      "word": "do-hinky"
    },
    {
      "word": "doohinky"
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "nl",
      "lang": "Dutch",
      "sense": "a thing",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "dinges"
    },
    {
      "code": "eo",
      "lang": "Esperanto",
      "sense": "a thing",
      "word": "umo"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "a thing",
      "word": "vehje"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "a thing",
      "word": "vekotin"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "a thing",
      "word": "hilavitkutin"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "a thing",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "truc"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "a thing",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "machin"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "a thing",
      "word": "Dingsbums"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "a thing",
      "word": "Dingsda"
    },
    {
      "code": "it",
      "lang": "Italian",
      "sense": "a thing",
      "word": "coso"
    },
    {
      "code": "mi",
      "lang": "Maori",
      "sense": "a thing",
      "word": "mea"
    },
    {
      "code": "pl",
      "lang": "Polish",
      "sense": "a thing",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "wihajster"
    },
    {
      "code": "pt",
      "lang": "Portuguese",
      "sense": "a thing",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "coisa"
    },
    {
      "code": "pt",
      "lang": "Portuguese",
      "sense": "a thing",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "negócio"
    },
    {
      "code": "pt",
      "lang": "Portuguese",
      "sense": "a thing",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "trem"
    },
    {
      "code": "pt",
      "lang": "Portuguese",
      "sense": "a thing",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "troço"
    },
    {
      "code": "pt",
      "lang": "Portuguese",
      "sense": "a thing",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "treco"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "roman": "štukóvina",
      "sense": "a thing",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "штуко́вина"
    },
    {
      "code": "sh",
      "lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
      "sense": "a thing",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "stvarčica"
    },
    {
      "code": "sv",
      "lang": "Swedish",
      "sense": "a thing",
      "word": "grunka"
    },
    {
      "code": "sv",
      "lang": "Swedish",
      "sense": "a thing",
      "word": "mackapär"
    },
    {
      "code": "sv",
      "lang": "Swedish",
      "sense": "a thing",
      "word": "manick"
    },
    {
      "code": "sv",
      "lang": "Swedish",
      "sense": "a thing",
      "word": "mojäng"
    },
    {
      "code": "sv",
      "lang": "Swedish",
      "sense": "a thing",
      "word": "pryl"
    },
    {
      "code": "sv",
      "lang": "Swedish",
      "sense": "a thing",
      "word": "sak"
    },
    {
      "code": "sv",
      "lang": "Swedish",
      "sense": "a thing",
      "word": "ting"
    },
    {
      "code": "sv",
      "lang": "Swedish",
      "sense": "a thing",
      "word": "tingest"
    },
    {
      "code": "tpi",
      "lang": "Tok Pisin",
      "sense": "a thing",
      "word": "samting"
    }
  ],
  "word": "doohickey"
}

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This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-11-06 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-10-02 using wiktextract (fbeafe8 and 7f03c9b). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

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