Hanky-panky

//ˌhæŋkɪˈpæŋki// noun

noun ·Moderate ·College level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    Mischievous behaviour, dishonest or shady activity. uncountable

    "I think there was some hanky-panky with the last election."

  2. 2
    Amorous behaviour, smooching, making out, necking, sex or other sexual activity, especially if illicit. uncountable

    "I don't wanna cry / I just wanna hanky panky / Nothing like a good spanky"

  3. 3
    A debaucherous act; a sexual act that is considered inappropriate. uncountable

Synonyms

All synonyms
actionadulteryaffairamouraphrodisiaass

Example

More examples

"I think there was some hanky-panky with the last election."

Etymology

Possibly a corruption of the Romani expression hakk'ni panki ("great trick", "big con" and hence "shady dealings").

More for "hanky-panky"

SynonymsSentencesPronunciationTranslate

Next best steps

Find stronger synonymsSee usage examplesCheck pronunciationBrowse writing guides

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