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
what's up,
what's what,
what's with,
what've,
what-if,
what-you-may-call-it,
whata,
whataboutery,
whataboutism,
whatchamacallit,
whate'er
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 VanceWhat, to make a what-you-may-call-it—a mash for La Sylphide?
Sir Hilton's Sin |George Manville FennJust where is Schloss (she pronounced it 'Slosh') what-you-may-call-it?
My Friend the Chauffeur |C. N. Williamson and A. M. Williamson