What does doohickey mean?
A doohickey is an informal term for a small object or device whose actual name is unknown, forgotten, or simply not worth specifying. It belongs to a family of playful English placeholder words — alongside gizmo, doodad, thingamajig, and whatchamacallit — that speakers reach for when pointing at some gadget, fastener, button, or attachment they cannot identify. The word is used almost exclusively in casual conversation and carries a breezy, humorous connotation rather than any technical precision; no one would label a part as a doohickey in a manual or a specification sheet. Though most strongly associated with American English, it is widely understood across the English-speaking world. Its charm lies in its very vagueness: it lets a speaker admit, without embarrassment, that they have no idea what the object in front of them is called — only that it is small, physical, and does something.
nounAn informal word for a small object or gadget whose name the speaker does not know, cannot recall, or cannot be bothered to specify.
- A small object, tool, or gadget whose name is unknown, forgotten, or deliberately unspecified.
"Hand me that little doohickey so I can tighten this bolt."
"There's some little doohickey in the drawer that keeps the cables from tangling."
"He fiddled with the doohickey on top of the engine until it finally started."
Regular plural; used when referring to multiple unnamed small gadgets.
"The junk drawer was full of screws, batteries, and assorted doohickeys."
'Doohickey' is one of English's many placeholder words for objects we can't name — and its true origin is a mystery even lexicographers haven't cracked.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of doohickey
The origin of 'doohickey' is uncertain; it first appeared in American English in the early twentieth century, with citations from around the 1910s–1920s. It may have arisen by alteration of an earlier dialect word such as 'doojigger', possibly influenced by other placeholder terms like 'doodad' and 'hickey'. No definitive root has been established, and lexicographers treat its derivation as genuinely obscure.
How doohickey is actually used
Strictly colloquial and conversational; it would be out of place in formal or technical writing. It carries a lighthearted, slightly self-deprecating tone, often implying mild unfamiliarity with the object. Common chiefly in American English but widely understood in British English.
Easily confused with doohickey
A 'doohickey' is any small unnamed gadget, while a 'hickey' is a temporary bruise on the skin caused by kissing or suction.
A 'doohickey' is an unspecified small object, whereas a 'doozy' is something extraordinarily good, bad, or difficult.