Meaning & use
walkie
Last updated
Meaning
nouncountableinformal
A small radio that you can carry with you and use to speak to someone else who has a similar device.
Grammar: Countable: you can say a walkie, two walkies, etc. It is almost always used in the full form walkie-talkie.
Patterns
- a walkie-talkie
- on the walkie
The security guard spoke into his walkie to call for backup.
We took walkies with us when we went hiking so we could stay in touch.
She heard a crackly voice coming from the walkie on the table.
Word forms
| plural | walkies |
|---|
Common combinations
- walkie-talkie
- The children played with a pair of walkie-talkies in the garden.
- on the walkie
- The manager was on the walkie, giving instructions to the staff.
- speak into a walkie
- He spoke into the walkie to report the accident.
Synonyms and how they differ
- two-way radio
- Two-way radio is the more formal, technical term for the same device; walkie is the informal short form.
- radio
- Radio is a general word for any device that receives broadcast signals; a walkie is specifically a handheld two-way radio.
Word family
- walkie-talkie noun
- The full, standard form of the same device.
Commonly confused: walkie or wakey?
walkie vs wakey
Wakey is a childish or humorous word meaning 'wake up' (as in 'wakey-wakey'). It sounds similar but has a completely different meaning.
Practice
The hikers used a ______ to stay in contact on the mountain.
Choose one answer.
Walkie-talkie is the full, standard noun for the device. Walkie is an informal short form and is not usually used alone in this kind of sentence. Wakey means 'wake up' and walking is a form of the verb walk, so neither fits the meaning.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “walkie”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.