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doozy

noun
doo·​zy | \ ˈdü-zē How to pronounce doozy (audio) \
variants: or doozie or less commonly doozer \ ˈdü-​zər How to pronounce doozer (audio) \
plural doozies or doozers

Definition of doozy

: an extraordinary one of its kind a real doozy of a snowstorm
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Did You Know?

While it's often maintained that the word doozy derives from the "Duesenberg" in the name of the famed Duesenberg Motor Company, this is impossible on chronological grounds. Doozy was first recorded (in the form dozy) in eastern Ohio in 1916, four years before the Duesenberg Motor Company began to manufacture passenger cars; the related adjective doozy, meaning "stylish" or "splendid," is attested considerably earlier, in 1903. So where did doozy come from? Etymologists believe that it's an altered form of the word daisy, which was used especially in the late 1800s as a slang term for someone or something considered the best.

Examples of doozy in a Sentence

They say the snowstorm tonight is going to be a doozy. Watch out for that first step. It's a doozy. Some of her comments have been real doozies. a doozy of a year
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Recent Examples on the Web

 That's especially true when a brace of last-act revelations — the second one is a real doozy — threaten to upset Lily's meticulously curated and choreographed last day. — Leslie Felperin, The Hollywood Reporter, "'Blackbird': Film Review | TIFF 2019," 7 Sep. 2019 Then there’s the doozy of all cuts, in 2008, when the Patriots’ Tom Brady suffered a torn knee ligament in the first game. — Los Angeles Times, "Column: If the Patriots can break the Super Bowl curse, maybe the Rams can too," 4 Sep. 2019 One of those casinos is to be built in Waukegan, where my colleague Jason Grotto reported a doozy of a story last week. — Logan Jaffe, ProPublica, "How a Video Gambling Company Helped Bankroll Local Politicians," 16 Aug. 2019 Irene ended up being a doozy, knocking out power to close to half a million National Grid customers. — Shirley Leung, BostonGlobe.com, "Memo to the RMV: If it’s life-and-death, don’t go on vacation," 23 July 2019 Between three eclipses and multiple retrogrades, this summer was quite a doozy. — Aliza Kelly Faragher, Allure, "What Your Sign's August 2018 Horoscope Predictions Mean for You," 30 July 2018 Matt Strahm’s first rough outing as a reliever this season was a doozy. — San Diego Union-Tribune, "Orioles come back to take one from Padres," 30 July 2019 Buckle up, everyone — this one’s going to be a doozy. —Daniel Menegaz Related content: The Hills HOW/WHEN & WHERE TO WATCH: 9 p.m. on MTV The Hills are… on fire! — Ew Staff, EW.com, "What to Watch on Monday: Hannah has to send home one of the final 3 guys on The Bachelorette," 29 July 2019 This spring has been a doozy for the Ohio Department of Transportation after dealing with tornadoes, flooding and landslides. — Sarah Brookbank, Cincinnati.com, "Ohio Department of Transportation: Memorial Day storm cleanup totals $500,000+," 24 June 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'doozy.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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First Known Use of doozy

1916, in the meaning defined above

History and Etymology for doozy

perhaps alteration of daisy

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More Definitions for doozy

doozy

noun
How to pronounce doozy (audio)

English Language Learners Definition of doozy

US, informal : something that is unusually good, bad, big, severe, etc.

See the full definition for doozy in the English Language Learners Dictionary

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