What does alky mean?
"Alky" is an informal English noun used to describe a habitual drunkard or someone dependent on alcohol. Emerging as American slang in the early twentieth century, it was formed by clipping "alcohol" (or "alcoholic") and adding the colloquial "-y" ending, and it quickly became stock vocabulary in hard-boiled fiction, newspaper columns, and everyday mockery of the town drunk. The word carries a distinctly disparaging connotation: it implies chronic drunkenness viewed as a personal failing rather than a medical condition, which is why modern usage favors terms like "alcoholic" in clinical and journalistic settings. A near-identical variant spelling, "alkie," appears just as frequently, and the plural is typically "alkies." Synonymous slang includes "boozer," "lush," and "drunkard." While the term survives in period writing and casual speech, its stigmatizing edge makes it a word best understood historically — useful for reading mid-century fiction or noir dialogue accurately, but generally avoided when describing real people today.
nounAn informal, often disparaging term for a person who is habitually drunk or addicted to alcohol; an alcoholic.
- A habitual drunkard; a person addicted to alcohol.
"By the time he lost his job and his flat, everyone on the street knew him as the local alky."
"The old man down at the docks had been written off as just another alky."
"In the novel, the protagonist's father is dismissed by neighbors as a hopeless alky long before anyone considers his illness."
The standard plural adds -s; the variant spelling "alkie" pluralizes identically.
"The saloon's back room was said to be reserved for the confirmed alkies of the district."
Born in early 1900s America, "alky" was the tabloids' favorite jab at the town drunk — a slur that predates Prohibition's speakeasies.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Words that share this root
Related word forms
How alky is actually used
"Alky" is informal and carries a mocking or contemptuous connotation; it reflects older attitudes that treat alcoholism as a character flaw rather than a disease. Because of this stigmatizing tone, it is generally avoided in medical, journalistic, and formal contexts, where "alcoholic" or "person with alcohol use disorder" is preferred. The variant spelling "alkie" is equally common.
Easily confused with alky
"Alky" is slang for a habitual drunkard, while "alkyd" is a type of synthetic resin used in paints and coatings.