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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.
Examples of doozy in a Sentence
Nina Corcoran, Pitchfork, 21 Jan. 2026
And the year ahead will be a doozy.
—David Rosowsky, Forbes.com, 5 Jan. 2026
The storm system was the first since 2006 to rain on Pasadena’s Rose Parade and ended up being a real doozy — toppling a host of daily rainfall records, several of which were set during that previous storm.
—Hannah Fry, Los Angeles Times, 2 Jan. 2026
The latest report to enter the oeuvre is a real doozy.
—Frederick Dreier, Outside, 19 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for doozy
Cite this Entry
“Doozy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/doozy. Accessed 29 Jan. 2026.
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