Did you know?
While it's often maintained that the word doozy derives from the "Duesenberg" in the name of the famed Duesenberg Motor Company, this is impossible on chronological grounds. Doozy was first recorded (in the form dozy) in eastern Ohio in 1916, four years before the Duesenberg Motor Company began to manufacture passenger cars; the related adjective doozy, meaning "stylish" or "splendid," is attested considerably earlier, in 1903. So where did doozy come from? Etymologists believe that it's an altered form of the word daisy, which was used especially in the late 1800s as a slang term for someone or something considered the best.
Synonyms
Examples of doozy in a Sentence
Paul Wiseman, Fortune, 30 Mar. 2024
Apple’s most recent legal challenge is a doozy: an antitrust lawsuit filed by the US Department of Justice and more than a dozen state attorneys general.
—Michael Calore Lauren Goode, WIRED, 28 Mar. 2024
In fact, high interest rates, rising prices and a shortage of inventory made 2023 a doozy of a year for homebuyers, especially first-time homebuyers who looked for deals but came up short.
—Frederick Melo, Twin Cities, 4 Feb. 2024
Kassandra Castillo | Credit: Sara Mally/PEACOCK Kassandra Castillo ended up with her Day 1 boo, Leo, in the finale — but the journey in between Love Island USA season 5's first and last episodes was a doozy.
—Alamin Yohannes, EW.com, 1 Sep. 2023
The terrorism-sponsoring regime will reportedly gain access, all told, to $15.5 billion — a doozy of a number.
—Kayla Bartsch, National Review, 21 Sep. 2023
The final two episodes of Season 2 saw Lexi (Maude Apatow) put on a doozy of a school play exposing some her family and friends’ darkest secrets and insecurities.
—Christi Carras, Los Angeles Times, 24 Aug. 2023
Sure, Special Counsel Jack Smith dropped a doozy on Tuesday, indicting former president Donald Trump for attacking the very heart of our Republic – conspiring to overturn the results of a democratic election.
—BostonGlobe.com, 2 Aug. 2023
Dive into those shallow wallets held together by duct tape because baby, these picks are a real doozy.
—Maria Sherman, SPIN, 25 Apr. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'doozy.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near doozy
Cite this Entry
“Doozy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/doozy. Accessed 16 Apr. 2024.
Copy Citation
Share