billy

¹ American  

[bil-ee] / ˈbɪl i /

noun

plural

billies

1. Also called billy club.  a police officer's club or baton.

2. a heavy wooden stick used as a weapon; cudgel.

3. Scot. Dialect. comrade.

4. Also called billycan.  Australian. any container in which water may be carried and boiled over a campfire, ranging from a makeshift tin can to a special earthenware kettle; any pot or kettle in which tea is boiled over a campfire.

5. Textiles. (in Great Britain) a roving machine.

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Billy ² American  

[bil-ee] / ˈbɪl i /

noun

1. a first name, often a form of William.

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billy ¹ British  

/ ˈbɪlɪˌkæn, ˈbɪlɪ /

noun

1. a metal can or pot for boiling water, etc, over a campfire

2. ( as modifier )

   billy-tea

3. informal to make tea

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billy ² British  

/ ˈbɪlɪ /

noun

1. a wooden club esp a police officer's truncheon

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Etymology

Origin of billy

Perhaps all independently derived generic uses of Billy (male name); for Australian sense compare Scots dialect billy-pot cooking pot

Example Sentences

We could see into that Holiday Inn through its plate glass windows and observe cops walking around its lobby with billy clubs, keeping a watchful eye on us.

From Salon • Apr. 18, 2025

He called California’s billy club ban “a very vague and nebulous law that has been abused for decades in California.”

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 28, 2024

Alan Beck, an attorney for two military veterans who challenged the billy club ban, welcomed Benitez’s ruling.

From Seattle Times • Feb. 26, 2024

The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that Mr. Roman in 2008 first publicized “the presence of two members of the New Black Panther Party — one carrying a billy club — outside of a Philadelphia polling site.”

From Washington Times • Aug. 15, 2023

Instead, it sounded like the voice of a troll who was standing under a bridge hoping that an unsuspecting billy goat would walk by.

From "Raymie Nightingale" by Kate DiCamillo

Related Words

• cudgel
• mace
• nightstick
• rod
• truncheon
• wand