what-you-may-call-it

[ hwuhch-uh-muh-kawl-it, hwoch-, wuhch-, woch- ]
/ ˈʰwʌtʃ ə məˌkɔl ɪt, ˈʰwɒtʃ-, ˈwʌtʃ-, ˈwɒtʃ- /

noun

Words nearby what-you-may-call-it

Definition for what-you-may-call-it (2 of 2)

whachamacallit

or what·cha·ma·call·it, what-you-may-call-it, what-do-you-call-it

[ hwuhch-uh-muh-kawl-it, hwoch-, wuhch-, woch- ]
/ ˈʰwʌtʃ ə məˌkɔl ɪt, ˈʰwɒtʃ-, ˈwʌtʃ-, ˈwɒtʃ- /

noun Informal.

an object or person whose name one does not know or cannot recall.

Origin of whachamacallit

1940–45; spelling of what you may call it reflecting affrication of t before y and reduction of vowels; compare similar metric pattern and internal əmə in rigamarole, thingamagig

Example sentences from the Web for what-you-may-call-it

  • In wanting you to let him take care of that necklace—the what-you-may-call-it thing—the Cadogan collar.

    The Bandbox |Louis Joseph Vance
  • What, to make a what-you-may-call-it—a mash for La Sylphide?

    Sir Hilton's Sin |George Manville Fenn
  • Just where is Schloss (she pronounced it 'Slosh') what-you-may-call-it?

    My Friend the Chauffeur |C. N. Williamson and A. M. Williamson