doozy

Meanings

1. 1nouncountableinformal

   Something that is remarkable for being extreme, such as a very hard problem, big mistake or severe storm.

   Grammar: Usually follows an or an, often with a real or a total.

   Patterns

   • a real doozy
   • a doozy of a something

   That was a doozy of a storm last night.

   The exam had a doozy of a final question.

   He told a doozy about the fish he almost caught.

2. 2nouncountableinformalold-fashioned

   Something that is wonderful or outstanding of its kind.

   Grammar: Less common than the extreme sense, with a positive tone.

   Patterns

   • a doozy of a something

   Her new car is a doozy.

   The band played a doozy of a show.

Word forms

Common combinations

a real doozy

This week was a real doozy.

a doozy of a mistake

He made a doozy of a mistake on the invoice.

quite a doozy

The cold I caught was quite a doozy.

a doozy of a problem

We have a doozy of a problem with the roof.

what a doozy

What a doozy that was!

Synonyms and how they differ

humdinger

Humdinger is very close and also informal, but it leans more to something excellent.

corker

Corker is a British informal word for something impressive and is now dated.

whopper

Whopper stresses sheer size, and is often used for big lies.

Word family

doozie noun

a variant spelling

doozies noun

plural form

humdinger noun

a related informal word for something outstanding

Commonly confused: doozy or doozy?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “doozy”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

Explore more words