Definition of MOXIE

Did You Know?

Hot roasted peanuts! Fresh popcorn! Ice-cold Moxie! You might have heard such a snack vendor's cry at a baseball game-if you attended it in 1924. That was the heyday of the soft drink named Moxie, which some claim outsold Coca-Cola at the height of its popularity. The beverage was a favorite of American writer E. B. White, who wrote, "Moxie contains gentian root, which is the path to the good life. This was known in the second century before Christ and is a boon to me today." By 1930, moxie had become a slang term for nerve and verve, perhaps because some people thought the drink was a tonic that could cure virtually any ill and bring vim back to even the most lethargic individual.

Examples of moxie in a Sentence

He showed a lot of moxie in questioning the policy. it was old-fashioned military moxie that got medical supplies to the disaster site in record time

Recent Examples on the Web Uncertainty appears to be the only certainty in 2020, and yet nothing has slowed down Union, an indefatigable one-woman cottage industry with ambition and moxie to burn. — Lola Ogunnaike, Marie Claire, "Gabrielle Union Talks About Zaya and Kaavia," 5 Oct. 2020 Finally, a quarterback with charisma, moxie, accuracy and arm strength, who would be able to lead a very talented offense to the promised land. — Hayden Grove, cleveland, "The Browns duped me last year, but it won’t happen again," 12 Sep. 2020 The Dayton’s Project has the advantage of visibility that could be an edge in a market struggling to regain its moxie. — Dee Depass, Star Tribune, "Ambitious remake of Dayton's Project in Minneapolis clashes with new reality," 11 Sep. 2020 That nineteenth-century embrace of the hyperbolic anticipated the moxie, in 1960, of two art-loving businessmen, Ralph E. Ogden and his son-in-law H. Peter Stern, who gradually acquired much of the valley. — Peter Schjeldahl, The New Yorker, "Returning to Storm King," 24 Aug. 2020 Every day in 2016, Coleman practiced against Red Raiders quarterback Patrick Mahomes and saw the arm strength, improvisation and play-making moxie that would lead the Kansas City Chiefs to a Super Bowl title only three years later. — Ryan O’halloran, The Denver Post, "Rookie safety Douglas Coleman hopes knack for takeaways translates from Texas Tech to Broncos," 28 May 2020 On top of their stamina and moxie, albatrosses also have a certain fondness for fish-toting vessels, says study author Samantha Patrick, a marine biologist at the University of Liverpool. — Katherine J. Wu, Smithsonian Magazine, "Albatrosses Outfitted With GPS Trackers Detect Illegal Fishing Vessels," 27 Jan. 2020 Cut to a soignée new Sabrina radiating moxie in a striking... — Katharine K. Zarrella, WSJ, "Try a Turban: Audrey Hepburn’s Bad-Hair-Day Fix," 3 June 2020 The freshman showed oodles of potential in spurts last year, and his intangibles — leadership, moxie, grit, etc. — Grant Mcgalliard, Dallas News, "TCU quarterback outlook for 2020: Is it Max Duggan or bust for the Frogs?," 19 Feb. 2020

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'moxie.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.