pikey
/ˈpaɪ.ki/
pikey noun: a pike (type of fish).
Noun (1)
pikey (plural pikeys)
- A pike (type of fish).
- The first time he comes to the surface of the water he gasps for breath, his huge mouth gapes, he gives his head a shake and out tumbles the bait, hooks and all, not one of them having had hold, and away goes pikey quite satisfied with his entertainment pro tem., and wondering what that ugly...1867, Francis, A book on angling, page 93
- In 1876, in twelve fishings in the same months, there were caught 31 Pikeys, 4 Spotted Dogs, and 441 Nowds.1881, Robert Lloyd Patterson, The Birds, Fishes & Cetacea of Belfast Lough, page 226
Adjective (1)
pikey (comparative more pikey, superlative most pikey)
- Associated with or filled with pike (fish).
- Like its schoolboy master, the rod built from the cane then chosen has since had many a narrow escape "by flood and fell," and not a few damaged 'tips,' aye, and 'joints' too; but its main timbers are as sound as ever, and I trust may yet be destined to wave death over many a pikey pool and...1865, Henry Cholmondeley-Pennell, The Book of the Pike, page 126
- The Broadland waters are pikey waters. There is no doubt that if Norfolk is famous for any one species of fish, then it is for none other than Esox himself, the predatory pike.1965, The Fishing Gazette [New Series] - Issues 4560-4585, page 14
Noun (2)
pikey (plural pikeys)
- An itinerant person, especially one of Romani or Irish Traveller heritage.
- “They must be the pikeys who live up there. They're a nasty bunch. Shouldn't get mixed up with them.” “Well, we told them to fuck off, they didn't seem that nasty to me! What are pikeys anyway?” “Well, they're like vagabonds.”2012, Pat Coppard, In Spite of Everything: a Life-story, →ISBN, page 15
- Gipsies and the pikey race generally were a class outside Lord Sandbar's previous experience, and he listened greedily.1887, Belgravia - Volume 62, page 416
- A working-class (often underclass) person with negative qualities stereotypically ascribed to itinerant people, including rowdiness, theft and poor hygiene.
- But if there's one thing he hates more than pikeys, it's posh people.2011, Jonathan Trigell, Cham, →ISBN
Adjective (2)
pikey (comparative more pikey, superlative most pikey)
- Associated with pikeys.
- Blimey. The least pikey place on the planet.2006 September 9, Huge, “Re: Oh for FU--S sake!”, in uk.rec.driving (Usenet)
- > You could try moving somewhere less pikey?2007 October 18, PC Paul, “Re: Exhaust security bolts help”, in uk.rec.cars.maintenance (Usenet)
Verb
pikey (third-person singular simple present pikeys, present participle pikeying, simple past and past participle pikeyed)
- To steal.
- >It's getting hold of a copy that isn't pikeyed that I'm having >difficulty with :-(2004 October 25, Lister, “Re: Monday, Monday, Play, Want, Bin”, in uk.games.video.misc (Usenet)
- Agree with Adrian about it being Pikeyed. At least you've a cheque to go buy something else.2006 September 29, Conor, “Re: Car legally removed or stolen?”, in uk.rec.cars.misc (Usenet)
Examples of pikey in a sentence
- The boated Pikey makes a series of tailstands as it lunges about, biting at feet, bags, hands, creels and thwarts.2015, E.M. Grant, Grant's Guide to Fishes: The Fisherman's Bible, →ISBN:
- The name gar-pike has gone some way to suggest the non-existent relationship, while (two dorsal fins notwithstanding) the pike-perches look remarkably 'pikey'.1979, Len Cacutt, British Freshwater Fishes: The Story of Their Evolution, page 98:
- We travel along tortuous forest roads in the most 'pikey' part ofVarmland — the whole time alongside water.2003, Michael Jensen, Fly-Fishing: For Pike, →ISBN, page 12:
- Rumour has it that you once posting something interesting that was pikeyed straight from scrotexes lame troll book.2007 August 9, Diablos Rojos, “Re: Special offer to all Scummers”, in alt.sports.soccer.manchester.united (Usenet):
Forms of pikey
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | pikeys |
| Adjective | |
| comparative | more pikey |
| superlative | most pikey |
| Verb | |
| third-person singular present | pikeys |
| present participle | pikeying |
| past participle | pikeyed |
| past | pikeyed |
Origin of pikey
From pike + -y.
Possibly from obsolete pike (“depart or travel”), or possibly from turnpike. The verb is derived from the stereotype that the Romani people or other travellers are thieves.
Words that rhyme with pikey
Questions about pikey
- What does pikey mean?
- Pikey means a pike (type of fish).
- How do you use pikey in a sentence?
- The boated Pikey makes a series of tailstands as it lunges about, biting at feet, bags, hands, creels and thwarts.
- What part of speech is pikey?
- Pikey can be a noun, an adjective or a verb.
- How do you pronounce pikey?
- Pikey is pronounced /ˈpaɪ.ki/.
- What is the plural of pikey?
- The plural of pikey is pikeys.
Words near pikey in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: pikey (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-au-pikey.ogg.
Cite this entry: “pikey.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/pikey. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.