Billy

/ˈbɪli/ · noun

Meaning

A fellow, companion, comrade, mate; partner, brother..

Definitions by Sense

1. A fellow, companion, comrade, mate; partner, brother.
2. (Geordie) A good friend.
3. A billy goat.
4. (UK, slang, obsolete) A silk handkerchief.
5. A highwayman's club, billy club.
6. A slubbing or roving machine.
7. (Australia, New Zealand) A tin with a swing handle used to boil tea over an open fire; a billycan; a billypot.
8. (Australia, slang) A bong for smoking marijuana.

Example Sentences

Fareweel, my rhyme-compoſing billie! / Your native ſoil was right ill-willie; / But may ye flouriſh like a lily, / Now bonilie! / I'll toaſt ye in my hindmoſt gillie, / Tho' owre the Sea!

1970 August, Valerius Geist, Mountain Goat Mysteries, Field & Stream, page 62, Then, during three days, I was amazed to see nannies with kids attack and chase off large billies.

In fact, distinguishing between billies and nannies isn't necessarily a sure thing.

It isn't just billies that enter the bleak season with rut-depleted fat reserves, but rams, bull elk, buck deer, and others.

All fighting coves you too must know, / Ben Caunt as well as Bendigo, / And to each mill be sure to go, / […] And you must sport a blue billy, / Or a yellow wipe […]

[…]at the time there existed in Dublin and its immediate neighbourhood, “forty-five manufacturers, having twenty-two billies, giving employment to 2885 work people, on whom depended for support 7386 individuals, manufacturing 29,312 pieces of cloth, of various qualities, valued at £336,380.”

On the second floor there were 2 billies, 1 carding and 1 scribbling machine.

Let's get the billy and cook some beans.

Synonyms for billy

Antonyms for billy

Related Words

Word Forms

• billies

Usage Notes

Choose a synonym only when it preserves the intended meaning, tone, and grammar of the full sentence.

Practice and Learn More

Frequently Asked Questions