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Definition of welly

welly

/ˈwɛl.i/
wel · ly
Plural:wellies
•
Past Simple:wellied
•
Past Participle:wellied
•
Present Participle:wellying
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welly Lexical Profile

welly Game Scores & Validity

• noun

1

British A knee-length waterproof boot made of rubber or plastic, worn in wet or muddy conditions; a Wellington boot (usually used in the plural).

Example

"The children put on their wellies before heading out to splash in the muddy puddles."

2

British Vigorous force, power, or physical effort, especially when pressing the accelerator pedal of a motor vehicle (chiefly in the phrase 'give it some welly').

Example

"You will need to give the car a bit more welly to make it up that steep hill."

Synonyms
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• verb

1

British To kick or strike a ball or object forcefully.

Example

"The defender panicked and wellied the ball high into the stands to clear the danger."

Synonyms
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• Rhymes for welly

• Nearby Words

wellington
wellness
wellspring
welly
welp
wels
wels catfish

Word Origin & Etymology

Coined in mid-20th-century British English as a colloquial shortening of 'Wellington boot' (named after Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, who popularized the boot style) combined with the diminutive suffix '-y'.

Cite this Entry

Wordmom. (2026). Definition of Welly. In Wordmom Dictionary. Retrieved Nov 5, 2026, from https://wordmom.com/dictionary/welly
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