Ernie

American

[ur-nee] / ˈɜr ni /

noun

a male given name, form of Ernest.
a female given name, form of Ernestine.

Ernie British

/ ˈɜːnɪ /

noun

(in Britain) a machine that randomly selects winning numbers of Premium Bonds

"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

Etymology

Origin of Ernie

C20: acronym of E lectronic R andom N umber I ndicator E quipment

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 threat to our city is here,” said Commerce City Manager Ernie Hernandez.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 27, 2026

It’s blitzes on the frozen tundra sure, but, it’s also Ernie Banks playing two on a beautiful July day.

From Salon • Mar. 18, 2026

Baidu has gone all-in on artificial intelligence in recent years, launching its Ernie large-language model and plowing money into its cloud business.

From Barron's • Feb. 26, 2026

CEO Ernie Herrman touted the results as “excellent,” with full-year net sales topping $60 billion for the first time, and said the first quarter “is off to a strong start.”

From MarketWatch • Feb. 25, 2026

Genie had thought about playing Pete and Repeat by mimicking Ernie’s nasty snores, but then he realized it wouldn’t matter because Ernie wasn’t awake to get annoyed by it anyway.

From "As Brave As You" by Jason Reynolds

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