hillbilly

[ hil-bil-ee ]

noun

, plural hill·bil·lies.

1. a term used to refer to a person from a backwoods or other remote area, especially from the mountains of the southern U.S. (sometimes used facetiously).

adjective

1. of, like, or relating to hillbillies:

   hillbilly humor.

hillbilly

/ ˈhɪlˌbɪlɪ /

noun

1. derogatory.
   an unsophisticated person, esp from the mountainous areas in the southeastern US
2. another name for country and western

Sensitive Note

Hillbilly is often used with disparaging intent and perceived as insulting, implying that a person who lives far away from a town or city lacks culture or education. However, this term is also used in a humorous way without intent to offend, and it is sometimes a positive term of self-reference.

Word History and Origins

Origin of hillbilly¹

An Americanism dating back to 1895–1900; hill + Billy

Word History and Origins

Origin of hillbilly¹

C20: from hill + Billy (the nickname)

Example Sentences

The book may never wind up on a bestseller list or see the big screen, but Terra Vance said its lessons on empathy and perseverance are “the real hillbilly elegy.”

From Los Angeles Times

His rhetoric shifted, and he spent less time talking about the failures of hillbillies and more about elites and Democrats.

From BBC

Others accepted Vance but don’t like him, mainly because his book criticizes hillbillies for their “bad choices” and flawed culture and celebrates his own desperate escape out of it.

From Salon

In the book, Vance searches for an explanation for his traumatic relationship with his mother, before hitting on the perfect explanation: His mother’s addiction was a consequence of the fact that her parents were “hillbillies.”

From Salon

"Mountain Justice" pits a hillbilly father against his daughter who, Nugent wrote, “picked up her new-fangled notions at a nurses' training school.”

From Salon

Related Words

• bumpkin