thingy meaning (informal): definition, etymology and quotations

thingy

noun

UK /ˈθɪŋiː/ · US /ˈθɪŋi/

Etymology From thing + -y (diminutive suffix).

Informal A thing (used to refer to something vaguely or when one cannot recall or does not wish to mention its name).

And as soon as that temperature returns to normal, let’s talk about the thingies that go through your headie at night.1996, Antonio Skármeta, translated by Jonathan Tittler, Love-Fifteen, Pittsburgh, Pa.: Latin American Literary Review Press, →ISBN, page 115:
What I should really do, of course, is use a Personal Digital Assistant; one of those tiny hand-held computerette thingies […]2013, Iain Banks, Raw Spirit, page 60:

1 more example

The incorporated technology is based on absolutely serious alt-fact science—that old familiar Einsteiny, time dilation thingy only in reverse— which also forms the basis of much of LaLa Valley's tech AI prowess.2023, Steve G Romaniuk, Tales from the Alternate Universe: Vol. 1:

He pulled out his thingy. It was huge.2004, Richard Tinsley, Walking on the Son:

Synonyms: 100 terms
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Derived terms: object thingy
Related terms: whatshisname, :Category:English placeholder terms, Placeholder name on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

pron

Etymology From thing + -y (diminutive suffix).

Informal A person whose name one cannot recall.

adj

Etymology From thing + -y (adjectival suffix).

Resembling or characteristic of a thing; tangible.

The most unpleasant, and also the thingiest, the central thing in Foreign Parts, was a giant banyan tree, putting out more and more suckers which created tangled arches, a swollen hiding-place of a tree, a series of organic traps, […]1985, A. S. Byatt, Still Life:
The secret of even the thingiest SF, the most solid-walnut-to-the-knuckles fantasy, is that you don't need much to summon worlds out of air, so long as the details are the right ones.2017, Francis Spufford, True Stories: And Other Essays, page 128: