plural cockneys
1
obsolete
a
: a spoiled child
b
: a squeamish woman
2
often Cockney
a
: a native of London and especially of the East End of London
b
: the dialect of London or of the East End of London
cockney
adjective
cock·ney·ism
ˈkäk-nē-ˌi-zəm 
plural -s
1
a
: cockney manners, speech, or attitudes
b
: the writing or the qualities of the writing especially the poetry of the 19th century English writers John Keats, Percy B. Shelley, William Hazlitt, and Leigh Hunt
—used disparagingly by some contemporaries, especially the Scottish critic John Lockhart
2
: a feature of cockney dialect
cockneyisms found in London records
Examples of cockney in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Katie Walsh, Los Angeles Times, 27 Mar. 2026
With hair bleached a garish blond and her saucer eyes rolling insolently at sensitive Philip (Leslie Howard) and his endearments, Bette Davis plays W. Somerset Maugham's caustic cockney waitress at full throttle and without an iota of warmth.
—Kevin Jacobsen, Entertainment Weekly, 14 Mar. 2026
The affair grows less decorous in farcical scenes of upstairs and downstairs life — kitchen staff toiling away on blunts, a trigger-happy shooting party, and cockney pub patrons breaking out in song — and the various side plots.
—Elaina Patton, IndieWire, 3 Dec. 2025
The Faustian bargain six desperate young friends forge with an ageless dragon (with a cockney accent) is the spawning root of a plot that reaches through dark academia, political intrigue, techno-anxiety, psychedelic ritual, and esoteric lore.
—Emma Alpern, Vulture, 2 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for cockney
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Noun
Our Gravedigger speaks to us, and to the moon, about her heart’s desire in charming cockney rhyming slang.
—Katie Walsh, Los Angeles Times, 27 Mar. 2026
With hair bleached a garish blond and her saucer eyes rolling insolently at sensitive Philip (Leslie Howard) and his endearments, Bette Davis plays W. Somerset Maugham's caustic cockney waitress at full throttle and without an iota of warmth.
—Kevin Jacobsen, Entertainment Weekly, 14 Mar. 2026
The affair grows less decorous in farcical scenes of upstairs and downstairs life — kitchen staff toiling away on blunts, a trigger-happy shooting party, and cockney pub patrons breaking out in song — and the various side plots.
—Elaina Patton, IndieWire, 3 Dec. 2025
The Faustian bargain six desperate young friends forge with an ageless dragon (with a cockney accent) is the spawning root of a plot that reaches through dark academia, political intrigue, techno-anxiety, psychedelic ritual, and esoteric lore.
—Emma Alpern, Vulture, 2 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for cockney
Cite this Entry
“Cockney.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cockney. Accessed 14 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
cockney
noun
cock·ney
ˈkäk-nē
plural cockneys
often capitalized
1
: a native of London and especially of the East End of London
2
: the dialect spoken by the cockneys
cockney
adjective
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