Meaning & use
Dicky
Last updated
Chiefly British informal: shaky, unsound, or likely to fail or give trouble, often describing health or a mechanical part.
See it in a sentence
He's had a dicky heart ever since the surgery, so he avoids strenuous exercise.
The old car's dicky transmission made every trip feel like a gamble.
A note on using this word
As a noun, "dicky" can also mean a false shirt front or, in older British cars, a small rear folding seat.
Words with a similar meaning
Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.
Words with an opposite meaning
Another way to use it
2. noun
A false shirt front worn to simulate a full shirt beneath a jacket or waistcoat.
He tucked a starched dicky into his vest for the formal dinner.
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