doozy

noun

doo·​zy ˈdü-zē How to pronounce doozy (audio)
variants or doozie or less commonly doozer
plural doozies also doozers
: an extraordinary one of its kind
a real doozy of a snowstorm

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.

Examples of doozy in a Sentence

They say the snowstorm tonight is going to be a doozy. Watch out for that first step. It's a doozy. Some of her comments have been real doozies. a doozy of a year
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.
Week 1 of the College Football season was a doozy. Ricardo Klein, MSNBC Newsweek, 2 Sep. 2025 The past week was already primed to be a doozy for data, with investors and analysts eagerly anticipating updates about economic growth, jobs and the Fed’s latest interest rate decision. Rob Wile, NBC news, 2 Aug. 2025 Sources say there is a role for a WSJ editor, but the other option is a doozy: Facebook/Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Mia Galuppo, HollywoodReporter, 31 July 2025 Next week is a doozy for the second-quarter earnings season, with 98 companies in the S & P 500 — about 20% of the index — scheduled to report their latest results. Lisa Kailai Han, CNBC, 18 July 2025 See All Example Sentences for doozy

Word History

Etymology

perhaps alteration of daisy

First Known Use

1916, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of doozy was in 1916

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Cite this Entry

“Doozy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/doozy. Accessed 5 Sep. 2025.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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