cockier; cockiest
1
: boldly or brashly self-confident
a cocky young actor
he is invariably a smug and cocky stuffed shirtJames Thurber
2
: jaunty
cockily adverb
cockiness noun

Examples of cocky in a Sentence

Don't get too cocky about your chances of getting the job. a cocky young actor who thought that he was God's gift to the theater
Recent Examples on the Web Culkin reprised his role as Roman Roy in the final season of Succession, portraying the typically cocky character's descent into a battered place both physically and emotionally. Stephanie Wenger, Peoplemag, 25 Feb. 2024 Some older musicians refused to play for him, finding his manner too cocky and Westernized. Tim Page, Washington Post, 9 Feb. 2024 And not to be cocky here, but my name came up a lot, and also Cameron's name came up a lot. Dalton Ross, EW.com, 29 Sep. 2023 The story opens on cocky young Achi (Lukas Kankava), discontentedly living with his overbearing married stepbrother Zaza (Levan Bochorishvili) in a hovel by the sea. David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 15 Feb. 2024 The duo first joined forces for 1990’s jazz dramedy Mo’ Better Blues, which saw Washington play a cocky trumpeter caught between two competing romances. Wesley Stenzel, EW.com, 8 Feb. 2024 Oldman, who recently earned a Golden Globe nod for his performance in the show as irascible spook Jackson Lamb, will return alongside Kristin Scott Thomas, who plays MI5 second desk Diana Taverner, Jack Lowden as espionage nepo baby River Cartwright and Christopher Chung as cocky geek Roddy Ho. K.j. Yossman, Variety, 2 Jan. 2024 The Euphoria Emmy nominee, who’s also an executive producer on Anyone But You, plays Bea, a Boston University law school student who has a meet-cute at a coffee shop with charming but cocky finance bro Ben (Powell). Eric Andersson, Peoplemag, 13 Dec. 2023 In bowing out, Butler issued the kind of statement — brave, a little cocky — one often hears under such circumstances. Mark Z. Barabak, Los Angeles Times, 19 Oct. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'cocky.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

see cock entry 1

First Known Use

1768, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of cocky was in 1768

Dictionary Entries Near cocky

Cite this Entry

“Cocky.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cocky. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

cocky

adjective
cockier; cockiest
1
: being too sure of oneself
2
: jaunty
cockily adverb
cockiness noun

More from Merriam-Webster on cocky

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