eighty-six

or 86

[ ey-tee-siks ]

noun

1. a cardinal number, 80 plus 6.
2. a symbol for this number, as 86 or LXXXVI.
3. a set of this many persons or things.
4. Slang. a customer considered undesirable or unwelcome and refused service at a bar or restaurant.

adjective

1. amounting to 86 in number.
2. Slang. sold out; out of stock.

verb (used with object)

, Slang.

1. to refuse to serve (an undesirable or unwelcome customer) at a bar or restaurant.
2. to reject; discard.

Word History and Origins

Origin of eighty-six¹

First recorded in 1930–35, as slang term in bars and restaurants; sense “refuse” perhaps as rhyming slang for nix ¹