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Definition of whatchamacallit

whatchamacallit

/ˌwʌtʃ.ə.məˈkɑːl.ɪt/
what · cha · ma · call · it
Plural:whatchamacallits
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whatchamacallit Lexical Profile

whatchamacallit Game Scores & Validity

• noun

1

A person or thing whose actual name the speaker has temporarily forgotten, does not know, or does not bother to specify.

Example

"Could you hand me that little metal whatchamacallit sitting next to the toolbox?"

Synonyms
View all synonyms for whatchamacallit

• Rhymes for whatchamacallit

• Nearby Words

whataboutism
whatcha
whatchacallit
whatchamacallit
whatever
whatevs
whatnot

Word Origin & Etymology

Coined in the early 20th century (attested by the 1920s) as a colloquial phonetic contraction of the phrase 'what you may call it'.

Usage Trend

Historical frequency of usage in published text.

180019102020
Data source: Google Books Ngram Viewer

Cite this Entry

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