Merriam-Webster Logo
SINCE 1828
Menu
×

An Encyclopædia Britannica Company

1

limey

play
noun, often capitalized lim·ey \ˈlī-mē\

Definition of limey

plural

limeys

  1. 1 slang :  a British sailor

  2. 2 slang :  englishman

See limey defined for English-language learners

Indulge Your Inner Word Nerd

image386126722
Words That Come From the Dinner Table
alt-5970fcc51169b
Trending: An Interview Full of 'Non sequiturs'
emoji-the-quiz
The Emoji Quiz
video-title-words-of-the-year-1066
Words of the Year: 1066

Origin and Etymology of limey

lime-juicer + 4-y

2

limey

adjective lim·ey

variant spelling of

  1. 1 :  smeared with or consisting of lime :  viscous

  2. 2 :  containing lime or limestone

  3. 3 :  resembling or having the qualities of lime

LIMEY Defined for English Language Learners

limey

play
noun

Definition of limey for English Language Learners

  • : a British person

Learn More about limey

  1. See words that rhyme with limey

Seen and Heard

What made you want to look up limey? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

show hide

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

WORD OF THE DAY

crucible

play

a severe test

Get Word of the Day daily email!

TRENDING NOW

  1. non sequitur “It does not follow”

  2. admiral's mast A massive search ends with an 'admiral's mast'.

  3. calumny 'An untrue statement that is made to damage someone's reputation'

  4. kakistocracy Frustrated Twitter users have been searching for this word.

  5. bona fide Made in good faith

SEE ALL

BROWSE DICTIONARY

limey

Test Your Vocabulary

The Emoji Quiz

  • emoji-the-quiz
  • What phase of the moon is this: 🌖 ?
Spell It

Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?

TAKE THE QUIZ
Word Winder's CrossWinder

Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.

TAKE THE QUIZ

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Words at Play

image386126722
Words and Phrases That Come from the Dinner Table

Fill your plate with these surprising food words

ghost-being-disinvited-from-party
'Disinvite' or 'Uninvite'?

A disinvited guest is an uninvited problem

alt-596f730ceb5ae
Words We're Watching: 'Scoby'

Kombucha lovers unite.

alt-596e1a928254c
Words We're Watching: 'Fidget Spinner'

Don't fight the fad

Ask the Editors

video-title-words-of-the-year-1066
Words of the Year: 1066

Or, Why Pig Meat is Called 'Pork' and Cow Meat is Called 'Beef'

payday
How Often Is 'Biweekly'?

Don't get us started on 'bimonthly'

video-irregardless-grammar-peeve-blend-of-the-synonyms-irrespective-and-regardless
Irregardless

It is in fact a real word (but that doesn't mean you should use it).

video-moose-goose-weird-plurals
Weird Plurals

One goose, two geese. One moose, two... moose. What's up with that?

Word Games

emoji-the-quiz
The Emoji Quiz

Think you’re an emoji 👓 expert? Let’s see 🤔

Take the quiz
image941935269
A Game of Thrones Word Quiz

In the Game of Thrones quiz, you learn some new vocabulary. (It’s quite safe, really. You will not die.)

Take the quiz
Spell It
Spell It

Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?

Take the quiz
Word Winder's CrossWinder
Word Winder's CrossWinder

A game of winding words.

Play the game