Meaning & use
wellie
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Meanings
nouncountableinformalBritish
A waterproof rubber boot that reaches up to the knee or calf, worn in wet or muddy conditions.
Grammar: Usually plural because boots come in pairs: a pair of wellies; singular is used for one boot.
Patterns
- a pair of wellies
- pull on your wellies
The children splashed through the puddles in their bright red wellies.
Don't forget your wellies; the field will be muddy.
He left his wellies by the back door.
noununcountableinformalBritish
In the phrase 'give it some wellie', extra force or effort when doing something such as driving or hitting.
Grammar: Used without an or a plural in the phrase give it some wellie.
Patterns
- give it some wellie
Give it some wellie, or the car will never get up the hill.
He hit the ball with a lot of wellie.
Word forms
| plural | wellies |
|---|
Common combinations
- a pair of wellies
- She bought a pair of wellies for the festival.
- muddy wellies
- Leave your muddy wellies in the porch.
- pull on your wellies
- Pull on your wellies; we're going to feed the ducks.
- green wellies
- The farmer wore old green wellies.
- give it some wellie
- Give it some wellie and the engine will start.
Synonyms and how they differ
- Wellington boot
- Wellington boot is the full, more formal name, while wellie is a casual short form.
- gumboot
- Gumboot is common in Australia and New Zealand, whereas wellie is British.
- rain boot
- Rain boot is the American term and covers a similar boot, though it can also be a slim fashion boot.
- galosh
- A galosh is a waterproof overshoe worn over a normal shoe, whereas a wellie is a complete boot.
Word family
- Wellington proper noun
- the duke after whom the boot is named
- Wellington boot noun
- the full name for a rubber boot
- welly noun
- alternate spelling of wellie
Commonly confused: wellie or well?
wellie vs well
Well is an adverb or a hole in the ground; wellie is a boot, so do not use it to mean 'in a good way'.
Practice
It rained all night, so the children put on their ___ before running into the muddy garden.
Choose one answer.
Wellies are waterproof rubber boots made for mud and puddles. Slippers and sandals would get wet, and trainers are sports shoes that are not waterproof.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “wellie”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.