Jitney

adj, noun

adj, noun ·2 syllables ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    Synonym of nickel, a 5-cent coin or amount. US, archaic
  2. 2
    a vehicle carrying many passengers; used for public transport wordnet
  3. 3
    Synonym of minibus, especially one with a scheduled fixed route.
  4. 4
    Synonym of gypsy cab, an unlicensed taxi.
  5. 5
    Synonym of shared taxi, a taxi usually shared with strangers to maximize profitability per trip.

    "[…] I said good-by and took the bags downstairs and hailed a Frisco taxi-jitney, which was an ordinary taxi that ran a regular route and you could hail it from any corner and ride to any corner you want for about fifteen cents, cramped in with other passengers like on a bus, but talking and telling jokes like in a private car."

Show 2 more definitions
  1. 6
    An informal lawn bowling, curling, or darts competition in which all players present are randomly drawn into teams. Canada
  2. 7
    A fraudulent arrangement whereby a broker who has direct access to an exchange executes trades on behalf of a broker who does not.
Adjective
  1. 1
    Synonym of cheap, very inexpensive. US, archaic, not-comparable

Synonyms

All synonyms
autobusbusbuscharabanccheapcoach

Example

More examples

"[…] I said good-by and took the bags downstairs and hailed a Frisco taxi-jitney, which was an ordinary taxi that ran a regular route and you could hail it from any corner and ride to any corner you want for about fifteen cents, cramped in with other passengers like on a bus, but talking and telling jokes like in a private car."

Etymology

1886, originally for a five-cent US coin (a nickel); use for taxis and buses due to these services originally charging five cents as fare, popularized circa 1915. The etymology is uncertain; it is believed to originate from Louisiana Creole jetnée, from French jeton (“token, coin-sized metal disc”), though this is disputed. Evidence for the Louisiana Creole French origin includes the geographic distribution (Southeastern US, especially Black/African-American), and early spelling as gitney, which is common French spelling for the /ʒi/ pronunciation.

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