doohickey

noun

doo·​hick·​ey ˈdü-ˌhi-kē How to pronounce doohickey (audio)
plural doohickeys also doohickies
Synonyms of doohickeynext
: doodad sense 2

Synonyms of doohickey

Relevance
See All Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus

Examples of doohickey in a Sentence

screw in the doohickey at the top of the lamp shade
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
But where barrel jeans play with proportions and cuts, these pants are more about doohickeys and thingamabobs, straps, flaps, and pulleys. — Sam Reed, Glamour, 10 Oct. 2025 There’s an amulet (one of those glowing doohickeys the fate of the cosmos hangs on), and your heart may sink every time someone starts chattering about it. — Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 6 May 2026 This model is basically an all-things-to-all people air-changing doohickey par excellence. — Simon Hill, Wired News, 31 Mar. 2025 Ty, who grew up in Breckenridge, also has eyes on other high-end outdoor doohickeys to complement the Skyloft Van. — Max Scheinblum, Denver Post, 12 Sep. 2025 See All Example Sentences for doohickey

Word History

Etymology

probably from doodad + hickey

First Known Use

1914, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of doohickey was in 1914

Rhymes for doohickey

See All Rhymes for doohickey

Browse Nearby Words

doofus
doohickey
dook
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Doohickey.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/doohickey. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
hangman letters and game
Hangman Lightning Round Figure out which word fits in the blanks.
See All