whatchamacallit
A metasyntactic term used for any object whose actual name the speaker does not know…A metasyntactic term used for any object whose actual name the speaker does not know or cannot remember; a doodad, gizmo, thingamajig, thingy.
» The whatchamacallit in the kitchen is making a strange noise again.
Ця штуковина на кухні знову видає дивні звуки.
Meaning
1 senses(colloquial)A metasyntactic term used for any object whose actual name the speaker does not know or cannot remember; a doodad, gizmo, thingamajig, thingy.
Dingsbums, Dingsda, Krimskrams
ка́к его́, ка́к её, ка́к их
я́к його́, я́к її́, я́к їх
- something unspecified whose name is either forgotten or not known
Examples
3 sentencesThe whatchamacallit in the kitchen is making a strange noise again.
Ця штуковина на кухні знову видає дивні звуки.
I forgot my whatchamacallit in the taxi.
It's that, you know, um, whatchamacallit. It's on the tip of my tongue, but I just can't remember the name!
Це ця штука, як же ж вона називається... На язиця крутиться, але не можу згадати.
deEs ist das - äh - dingsbums. Es liegt mir auf der Zunge, aber ich kann mir den Namen einfach nicht merken.
Translations
9 languagesBy meaning 1
By meaning 1
Origin
Univerbation and contraction of what you may call it. United States, 20th century (recordeUniverbation and contraction of what you may call it. United States, 20th century (recorded in 1921).
Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Forms
plural: whatchamacallits / whatchamacallem / whatchamacall'em| Singular | whatchamacallit |
|---|---|
| Plural | whatchamacallits / whatchamacallem / whatchamacall'em |
regular
Synonyms
18 synonymsWord family
2 related wordsLessons for this word
1 lessons- A1Plural nouns — Because its plural is irregular