Cagney

American

[kag-nee] / ˈkæg ni /

noun

James, 1899–1986, U.S. film actor.

Cagney British

/ ˈkæɡnɪ /

noun

James. 1899–1986, US film actor, esp in gangster roles; his films include The Public Enemy (1931), Angels with Dirty Faces (1938), The Roaring Twenties (1939), and Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942) for which he won an Oscar.

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The airport was also the site of scenes from many other early films, including 1930’s “Hell’s Angels,” produced by Howard Hughes, and 1933’s “Lady Killer,” starring James Cagney.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 1, 2025

“Remember the old James Cagney movies when you see the head in the toilet?” he asks.

From Washington Post • Feb. 22, 2023

Unlike James Cagney or Fred Astaire or Michael Jackson, he lacks the natural talent and grace of those performers.

From Salon • Dec. 18, 2022

But she also starred with Kirk Douglas in the 1968 crime drama “Brotherhood” and with James Cagney in the 1956 Western “Tribute to a Bad Man.”

From Seattle Times • Sep. 14, 2022

First Communion day is the happiest day of your life because of The Collection and James Cagney at the Lyric Cinema.

From "Angela's Ashes: A Memoir" by Frank McCourt

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023