moxie

noun

mox·​ie ˈmäk-sē How to pronounce moxie (audio)
1
: energy, pep
woke up full of moxie
2
: courage, determination
it takes … moxie to pull up roots and go to a land where the culture and probably the language are totally foreignM. J. McClary
3
: know-how
was impressed with his musical moxie and hired him as a solo

Did you know?

If the idea of a carbonated bevvy flavored with gentian root makes you thirsty to wet your whistle, then you’ve got some moxie, friend! Lowercase moxie—which today is a synonym of both nerve and verve—originated as uppercase Moxie, as in Moxie Nerve Food, a patent medicine and tonic invented by Dr. Augustin Thompson and sold in New England in the 1870s. Within a decade, when it was clear his drink wasn’t really medicinal, he carbonated Moxie and marketed it as a kind of 19th-century energy drink with a “delicious blend of the bitter and the sweet.” The soft drink and its advertising slogans (among them Make Mine Moxie!) eventually caught on around the country. The beverage was even a favorite of Charlotte’s Web author E. B. White, who wrote, “Moxie contains gentian root, which is the path to the good life.” The semantic jump from “a drink that gives you energy” to “energy” itself is as natural as a good advertising campaign. By 1930, moxie had acquired its earliest modern sense referring to vim and pep.

Examples of moxie in a Sentence

He showed a lot of moxie in questioning the policy. it was old-fashioned military moxie that got medical supplies to the disaster site in record time
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 Diddy’s enterprises, like Bad Boy, Sean John, Cîroc, and Revolt, needed to be monuments to Black entrepreneurial moxie more than light needed to be shed on seemingly indiscriminate violence behind the scenes. Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 3 July 2025 Though several Democrats are starting to make moves toward 2028, liberals have struggled with the lack of a main character to match Trump's political moxie the way then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi did in his first term. Phillip M. Bailey, USA Today, 28 June 2025 This tale of style and moxie proves that opposites not only attract but can enrich the lives of anyone willing to take a chance on themselves and on true love. Jennifer Maas, Variety, 24 June 2025 Overcoming these hurdles requires a unique blend of passion, knowledge, and moxie. Irene S. Levine, Forbes.com, 24 June 2025 See All Example Sentences for moxie

Word History

Etymology

from Moxie, a trademark for a soft drink

First Known Use

1930, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of moxie was in 1930

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Cite this Entry

“Moxie.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/moxie. Accessed 14 Jul. 2025.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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