- chivvy
- transitive verb see chivy
New Collegiate Dictionary. 2001.
chivvy
Look at other dictionaries:
chivvy — v. same as {chivy}. [Also spelled {chivy}, {chevy}, and {chevvy}.] Syn: harass, hassle, harry, beset, plague, molest, provoke. [WordNet 1.5] … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
chivvy — (v.) harass, 1918, from alternative form of chevy (1830) to chase, from a noun chevy (1824, also used as a hunting cry, c.1785), from chevy chase a running pursuit, probably from the Ballad of Chevy Chase, popular song from 15c. describing a… … Etymology dictionary
chivvy — (also chivy) ► VERB (chivvies, chivvied) ▪ tell (someone) repeatedly to do something. ORIGIN originally meaning «a hunting cry»: probably from the ballad Chevy Chase, celebrating a skirmish on the Scottish border … English terms dictionary
chivvy — UK [ˈtʃɪvɪ] / US verb [transitive] Word forms chivvy : present tense I/you/we/they chivvy he/she/it chivvies present participle chivvying past tense chivvied past participle chivvied British to try to persuade someone to do something or to hurry… … English dictionary
chivvy — chiv|vy [ tʃıvi ] verb transitive BRITISH to try to persuade someone to do something or to hurry them, especially when they do not really feel like it: chivvy someone into (doing) something: She chivvied me into buying a bigger car. chivvy… … Usage of the words and phrases in modern English
chivvy — chiv|vy chivy [ˈtʃıvi] v past tense and past participle chivvied present participle chivvying third person singular chivvies [T] BrE informal [Date: 1700 1800; Origin: Chevy Chase, place near the border between England and Scotland where a battle … Dictionary of contemporary English
chivvy — [[t]tʃɪ̱vi[/t]] chivvies, chivvying, chivvied VERB If you chivvy someone, you keep telling them to do something that they do not want to do. [BRIT] [V n into ing/n] There, the health care authority chivvies doctors into doing more preventive… … English dictionary
chivvy — Chevy Chev y, n. [Written also {chivy}, and {chivvy}.] [Prob. fr. the ballad of Chevy Chase; cf. Prov. E. chevychase a noise, confusion, pursuit.] [Eng.] 1. A cry used in hunting. [Webster 1913 Suppl.] 2. A hunt; chase; pursuit. [Webster 1913… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
chivvy — Chivy Chiv y, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Chivied}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Chivying}.] [Cf. {Chevy}.] To goad, drive, hunt, throw, or pitch; to repeatedly cause annoyance or concern to. [Slang, Eng.] [Also spelled {chivvy}, {chevy}, and {chevvy}.] Dickens.… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
chivvy — 1. verb a) To subject to harassment or verbal abuse. to chivvy the fox b) To coerce, as by persistent request. 2. noun A goad … Wiktionary
chivvy — [c]/ˈtʃɪvi/ (say chivee) verb (chivvied, chivvying) –verb (t) 1. to harass; worry; nag. 2. British to chase; run after. –verb (i) 3. to scamper; race. –noun British 4. a hunting cry. 5. a hunt chase. –phrase …
