jitney
Americannoun
plural
jitneys-
a small bus or car following a regular route along which it picks up and discharges passengers, originally charging each passenger five cents.
-
Older Slang. a nickel; five-cent piece.
verb (used with or without object)
noun
-
a small bus that carries passengers for a low price, originally five cents
-
slang a nickel; five cents
Etymology
Origin of jitney
1900–05, of obscure origin; French jeton jetton is a phonetically implausible source
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.
But the second the jitney turns into the South Fork, and I start to see trees, my shoulders drop.”
From New York Times • Aug. 1, 2023
“When I was younger and couldn’t afford an actual vacation, I would bring my toddler on an adventure I called ‘the bus to the boat to the jitney to the beach,’ ” Coven said.
From Seattle Times • Jul. 18, 2023
What’s remarkable is that only Smith in the role of Doub, Anthony Chisholm as the old alcoholic jitney driver Fielding and Harvy Blanks as the colorful neighborhood numbers taker are reprising their Broadway performances.
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 25, 2019
The jitney came and she didn’t have long to wait; the hotel was a new one, surprisingly close by.
From Slate • Mar. 26, 2018
The jitney takes about twenty minutes to drop me off at Mr. Reilly’s work.
From "Landscape with Invisible Hand" by M.T. Anderson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
