moxie

noun mox·ie \ ˈmäk-sē \

Updated on: 11 Sep 2017

Definition of moxie

1 :energy, pep

woke up full of moxie

2 :courage, determination

it takes … moxie to pull up roots and go to a land where the culture and probably the language are totally foreign
—M. J. McClary

3 :know-how

was impressed with his musical moxie and hired him as a solo

See moxie defined for English-language learners

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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 of moxie from the Web

With his irascible grin and fighter-pilot moxie, McCain was elected to the Senate from Arizona six times, most recently last year, but twice thwarted in seeking the presidency.

— donna cassata, The Seattle Times, "Sen. McCain diagnosed with brain tumor after clot removed," 20 July 2017
With his irascible grin and fighter-pilot moxie, McCain was elected to the Senate from Arizona six times, but twice thwarted in seeking the presidency.

— donna cassata, Sun-Sentinel.com, "Sen. John McCain diagnosed with aggressive type of brain cancer," 19 July 2017
His outfit, Roivant, has been sniffing out and buying up experimental drugs that other biopharma companies either didn't have the money or the moxie to take through the regulatory process.

— sy mukherjee, Fortune, "for coverage from TIME, Health, Fortune and more," 11 July 2017
Trump, at the time, was developing a sullen moxie that rivaled Cohn’s.

— marie brenner, The Hive, "How Donald Trump and Roy Cohn’s Ruthless Symbiosis Changed America," 4 July 2017
Trump, at the time, was developing a sullen moxie that rivaled Cohn’s.

— vanityfair.com, VanityFair.com, "How Donald Trump and Roy Cohn’s Ruthless Symbiosis Changed America," 28 June 2017
The same guy needs to muster the moxie necessary to take another one that could have a similarly lasting effect on his legacy as an executive.

— david haugh, chicagotribune.com, "Bulls should trade Jimmy Butler -- but do they have it in them?," 20 June 2017
Mills displayed uncommon moxie for a rookie corner.

— paul domowitch, Philly.com, "Eagles expect a lot from second-year cornerback Jalen Mills | Paul Domowitch," 5 June 2017
Mrs. Ehrman’s advocacy took her on numerous trips to the Middle East, where her moxie was on full display in meetings with dozens of heads of state, including multiple sessions with Yasir Arafat, the Palestinian leader.

— amy chozick, New York Times, "Sara Ehrman, Outspoken Feminist With Deep Ties to Clintons, Dies at 98," 3 June 2017

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.

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.