Dewey

//ˈduːi// adj, name, noun, slang

adj, name, noun, slang ·Moderate ·College level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A charge of DUI. US, humorous, slang, uncommon
Adjective
  1. 1
    Obsolete form of dewy. alt-of, obsolete

    "115 lbs. of green, dewey grass"

Proper Noun
  1. 1
    A surname from Old French.
  2. 2
    A male given name transferred from the surname, of 1890s American usage.
  3. 3
    A number of places in the United States:; A part of Dewey-Humboldt, Yavapai County, Arizona, previously unincorporated.
  4. 4
    A number of places in the United States:; A ghost town in Owyhee County, Idaho.
  5. 5
    A number of places in the United States:; A census-designated place in East Bend Township, Champaign County, Illinois.
Show 11 more definitions
  1. 6
    A number of places in the United States:; An unincorporated community in Harrison Township, Vigo County, Indiana.
  2. 7
    A number of places in the United States:; A ghost town in Polk County, Missouri, named after George Dewey.
  3. 8
    A number of places in the United States:; A census-designated place in Beaverhead County, Montana.
  4. 9
    A number of places in the United States:; A city in Washington County, Oklahoma, named after George Dewey.
  5. 10
    A number of places in the United States:; An unincorporated community in Custer County, South Dakota.
  6. 11
    A number of places in the United States:; A ghost town in Grand County, Utah.
  7. 12
    A number of places in the United States:; An unincorporated community in Skagit County, Washington.
  8. 13
    A number of places in the United States:; A town in Burnett County, Wisconsin.
  9. 14
    A number of places in the United States:; A town in Portage County, Wisconsin, named after George Dewey.
  10. 15
    A number of places in the United States:; A town in Rusk County, Wisconsin.
  11. 16
    A number of places in the United States:; An unincorporated community in the town of Superior, Douglas County, Wisconsin.

Synonyms

All synonyms
admiral deweydriving under the influenceduijohn deweymelville louis kossuth dewey

Example

More examples

"For Memnon was that dewey, royal boy, son of Aurora, and born King of Egypt, who, with enthusiastic rashness flinging himself on another’s account into a rightful quarrel, fought hand to hand with his overmatch, and met his boyish and most dolorous death beneath the walls of Troy."

Etymology

Etymology 1

Possibly from a place name in Northern France, Douai. Welsh origin from Dewi (David) has also been suggested.

Etymology 2

A phonetic pronunciation of the initialism DUI, particularly in some rural areas of the US.

Related phrases

Dewey CountyDewey Decimal ClassificationDewey Decimal SystemDewey-Humboldt

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.