mosey
Americanverb (used without object)
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to wander or shuffle about leisurely; stroll; saunter (often followed by along, about, etc.).
-
to leave quickly; decamp.
verb
Etymology
Origin of mosey
An Americanism dating back to 1820–30; origin uncertain
Explanation
When you mosey, you stroll along in no particular hurry. You might mosey down the street to the town pool on a hot summer day. People mosey when they're in no rush to get where they're going. You're more likely to mosey over to the book store on a Saturday than you are to mosey to work when you're running late. The verb mosey is early-1800s American slang with an uncertain origin. Some experts think it comes from the British slang mose, "to go about in a dull, stupid way," while others see a connection to the Spanish vamos, or "let us go."
Vocabulary lists containing mosey
Bunnicula
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The Color of Water
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The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
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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.
There are already plenty of places in the capital where a mosey around merely needs a mouse.
From BBC • Nov. 8, 2023
We wring our hands like maiden aunts as they mosey blithely into danger: What could possibly go wrong in this cobwebbed basement/cabin in the woods/polygamist doomsday cult?
From New York Times • May 25, 2023
Then, after waiting for a delivery robot to mosey past them on the sidewalk, the trio zipped off, heading first to the Santa Monica Pier and then to the skatepark on Venice Beach.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 27, 2023
Most days in a Houston suburb, some of the best gymnasts in the nation mosey into their training facility for another 7 a.m. practice.
From Washington Post • Apr. 13, 2023
“I reckon it wouldn’t. Now, you got any more questions, or can we mosey on about our business?”
From "Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky" by Kwame Mbalia
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.
