billy

1 of 2

noun (1)

bil·​ly ˈbi-lē 

plural billies

chiefly Australia and New Zealand

: a metal or enamelware pail or pot with a lid and wire bail

called also billycan

billy

2 of 2

noun (2)

plural billies

1

: billy club

2

: billy goat

Synonyms

Noun (2)

• bastinado
• bastinade
• bat
• baton
• billy club
• bludgeon
• cane
• club
• cudgel
• nightstick
• rod
• rung [Scottish]
• sap
• shillelagh
• shillalah
• staff
• truncheon
• waddy [Australian]

Examples of billy in a Sentence

Noun (2)

police officers carry a billy while patrolling on foot

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

The rapper-producer enlisted Armand Hammer’s billy woods and Elucid, Open Mike Eagle, Lupe Fiasco, Homeboy Sandman, and Hanni El Khatib for Black Hole Superette. —Jazz Monroe, Pitchfork, 2 Apr. 2025

Soothe your anxiety over murmurs of Radiohead activity by plunging into electronic veteran Mark Pritchard’s new full-length with Thom Yorke; ramp that anxiety up again with a sinister sci-fi concept album from the unstoppable billy woods. —Madison Bloom, Pitchfork, 19 Mar. 2025

Last year’s ever-eclectic bill featured Hessle Audio, Caroline Polachek, and billy woods; the inaugural New York edition is set to take place in May, with Oneohtrix Point Never, Nala Sinephro, Evilgiane, and Two Shell among the performers. —Jazz Monroe, Pitchfork, 12 Mar. 2025

More importantly, Vance cast himself as an extraordinary exception to his fellow Appalachians, describing ’billies as encased in a toxic amber that kept them from improving their lot and left them embittered with a country that has moved on without them. —Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 16 July 2024

Hip-Hop In 2013, the indie-rap lifers billy woods and Elucid joined forces to become Armand Hammer, a clear-eyed, thrilling guerrilla duo with a penchant for cutting through nonsense. —The New Yorker, 14 June 2024

Also on the Friday bill are: Jai Paul, 100 gecs, Jeff Rosenstock, Yaeji, Sudan Archives, Amen Dunes, billy woods & Kenny Segal, Tkay Maidza, Doss, ML Buch, Rosali, Angry Blackmen, and Black Duck. —Pitchfork, 13 Mar. 2024

The rap duo—comprised of billy woods and Elucid—previously teamed up with the Alchemist for the 2021 collaboration Haram. —Nina Corcoran, Pitchfork, 27 Feb. 2024

The suit challenges only the prohibition on the billy and not the other weapons listed in the same statute. —Alex Riggins, San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 Feb. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

Scots billy-pot cooking utensil

Noun (2)

probably from the name Billy

First Known Use

Noun (1)

1849, in the meaning defined above

Noun (2)

1848, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing billy

• billy-bi
• billy club
• billy goat

Rhymes for billy

• billie
• chilli
• chilly
• dilly
• filly
• frilly
• gillie
• gilly
• hilly
• lily
• philly
• really

Kids Definition

billy

noun

bil·​ly

ˈbil-ē

plural billies

1

: billy club

2

: billy goat