jiffy
noun
Simple meaning
A very short time.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
jifeeSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈdʒɪfi
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
colloquial
A very short time (as the time it takes the eye to blink or the heart to beat)
colloquial
A very short, unspecified length of time.
electronics
The length of an alternating current power cycle (1/60 or 1/50 of a second).
uk
Ellipsis of jiffy bag, a padded envelope.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C2 · Proficient (estimated)
- Frequency
- Uncommon
- Typical Use
- Primarily written
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: A very short time (as the time it takes the eye to blink or the heart to beat)
Used this way, jiffy is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It turns up most in everyday conversation and social media or informal writing contexts.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Casual
- Intensity
- Moderate
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Playful
- Usage feel
- Casual and conversational
Where it naturally appears
- Everyday conversation
- Social media/informal writing
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Similar Words, What’s the Difference?
Close in meaning, but not always interchangeable.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
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What Does It Mean Here?
Words can change meaning depending on context.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.