Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

hickey

/ˈhɪk.i/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: 3.11 in modern English

Syllables: hick-ey
IPA: /ˈhɪk.i/

18

Scrabble Score

6

Letters

2

Syllables

6

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A bruise-like mark made during petting by pressing the mouth to the skin on one’s partner’s body and sucking.

Slang

noun

A similar mark made by the pressure of a musical instrument such as a violin or viola against the neck.

noun

American usage

noun

An object whose name is unknown or cannot be recalled.

Informal; Slang

noun

A printing defect caused by foreign matter on the printing surface resulting in a ring where the ink is missing, appearing as a spot of ink surrounded by a halo, or as an unprinted spot within a solid printed area.

noun

A serif or other ornamentation on type.

Informal

noun

Local swelling in a tissue area, especially skin, often due to injury.

noun

A tool for making smooth, semicircular bends in conduit and pipe.

Example Sentences

"But Louis Vuitton bras all over your breasts / Got me wanting to put hickeys all over your chest"
"When it comes to hickeys, the best I can tell you is that a lot of girls cover them with makeup or a turtleneck shirt. But let me close with a final thought. Never be ashamed of your hickeys. Show them off proudly as badges of love."
"No, a pimple is not a small pimp. It is what they call a hickey in the country. Look up papules."
"Years ago, there were internal company standards for dark center (ink color) hickeys and for white voids in solids/type."
"It is generally believed, by those who study such things, that serif typefaces are easier to read when reading a lot of words. The hickeys (serifs) on each letter tend to push our eye toward the next letter."
"take a hickey"

Etymology

Unknown.

Origin

Source language: Irish

Word Breakdown

Root: Ó hÍcidhe

Regional Pronunciation

British English: /ˈhɪk.i/

Usage

Slang
American usage
Informal

Inflected Forms

hickeys (plural) hicky (alternative) hickie (alternative)

Derived Forms

doohickey dohickey

Phrases

Hickeys Creek

Synonyms

love bite knot Sorted by number of Google hits widget hickey gizmo thingy gimmick thingie jigger gismo gubbins

Rhymes With

tricky mickey sticky nikki nicky vicky picky nicki vicki niki dickie micky

Questions

How do you pronounce hickey?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈhɪk.i/.
What does hickey mean?: A bruise-like mark made during petting by pressing the mouth to the skin on one’s partner’s body and sucking.
Where does hickey come from?: It is traced to Irish.

How to pronounce hickey

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “hickey”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈhɪk.i/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “hickey”.
Repeat and practice — Say “hickey” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.