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joey

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joey¹

  • /ˈd͡ʒoʊ.i/

Rhymes with -əʊi

Where it comes from

Unknown. Older and more general sources state that joey comes from an Australian Aboriginal language (cited as joè), but newer sources that focus on Australian English and Aboriginal languages say the origin is unknown. The Australian National Dictionary includes a sense of “young possum” with citations predating the earliest “young kangaroo” citations.

noun joeys

  1. The immature young of a marsupial, notably a junior kangaroo, but also a young wallaby, koala, etc. As soon as a joey is born, it crawls into its mother's pouch. The joey grows in the pouch.
  2. Australia, slang A young child.
  3. abbreviation, ellipsis Ellipsis of joey word Among the kangaroo words that yield the most joviality and joy are those that conceal multiple joeys.
  4. Ireland, UK, slang A parcel smuggled in to an inmate. "Visit in two days though," said Tommo. "Hang in there mate, got a joey coming, we'll be sweet then."

joey²

  • /ˈd͡ʒoʊ.i/

Rhymes with -əʊi

Where it comes from

From Joseph Grimaldi (1778–1837), a popular English entertainer.

noun joeys

  1. A kind of clown.

joey³

  • /ˈd͡ʒoʊ.i/

Rhymes with -əʊi

noun joeys

  1. UK, slang A member of the Royal Marines.

    Similar: jolly

joey⁴

  • /ˈd͡ʒoʊ.i/

Rhymes with -əʊi

Where it comes from

From British TV personality Joey Deacon (1920–1981), who was the focus of Blue Peter's 1981 charity campaign. The programme was aimed at children, who then picked the term up and used it as an insult.

noun joeys

  1. dated, derogatory, offensive, slang, in UK A person with cerebral palsy.
  2. dated, derogatory, offensive, slang, in UK A stupid person.

joey⁵

  • /ˈd͡ʒoʊ.i/

Rhymes with -əʊi

Where it comes from

Said to have been named after Scottish politician Joseph Hume (1777–1855).

noun joeys

  1. UK, obsolete, slang A fourpenny piece, or its value; fourpence worth. a joey of brandy

Joey⁶

  • /ˈd͡ʒoʊ.i/

Rhymes with -əʊi

proper noun Joeys

  1. A diminutive of the male given names Joe and Joseph. Indeed what do the tensomethings, who might be watching the show at that hour, make of jokes like Joey telling Chandler that his uncle Sal has a really big tongue.
  2. A diminutive of the female given name Josephine.

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: jean, air, michel, murderer, aerial, hey, assassin, roo, look, jojo, joe, mick, kash, huh, baby, infant

Translations

Every language

noun kangaroo joey

Deutschjunges Känguruh
Русскийкенгурёнок kengurjónok, джо́уи džóui

noun koala joey

Русскийкоалёнок koaljónok, джо́уи džóui

noun wallaby joey

Русскийдетёныш ва́ллаби detjónyš vállabi, джо́уи džóui

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Cite this
MLA

"joey." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/joey. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

joey. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/joey

Chicago

"joey." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/joey.

BibTeX
@misc{joey_2026,
  title = {joey},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/joey},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}