Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Overly self-assertive or self-confident.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Pert; self-confident; conceited.
  • noun A shortened form of cockatoo, 2.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective Slang Pert.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective Overly confident, arrogant and boastful.
  • noun Abbreviation of cockatoo; used when pretending to talk to such a bird, as in "hello cocky".
  • noun Australia, New Zealand, informal A farmer, particularly a small-time farmer.
  • noun New Zealand, informal A sheep farmer.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective overly self-confident or self-assertive

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From cocksure +‎ -y (“having quality of”).

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From cockatoo (“type of bird”) +‎ -y (“diminutive suffix”). In the sense “farmer”, abbreviated from cockatoo farmer; the designation developed in 19th century Australia following the Robertson Land Acts, which increased the number of small farms.

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Examples

  • We won't give that number on it but we have terrific commitments from retailers for the flow on water bottle much more than we would have expected and some very, very unique products. its also, its not only water bottle its also what you call cocky months which are traveling mugs.

    Retail Sector and Stocks Analysis from Seeking Alpha 2010

  • Catch ya later. andrea Says: mmt, fed was uncharacteristically cocky (but in a good way) in his semi final presser. if you compare the AO semi final presser to the FO where he met soderling or even wimby when he met roddick, he wasn't going on about how 'those guys don't have much of a chance cos they're playing me' and that kind of attitude. during the other GS's he said the usual stuff 'gonna be a tough match' 'give them credit' 'don't underestimate'. he was definitely more fired up and letting some zingers fly this time around compared to the usual stuff. of course, the term cocky can be seen as a negative and in the end, it wasn't negative at all and he lived up to all his comments. he's just usually not that fired up vocally before a final. but if i had been playing like he had been, heck, i would've been saying the same things!

    Tennis-X.com :: Xtreme Tennis News contact@tennis-x.com 2010

  • Catch ya later. andrea Says: mmt, fed was uncharacteristically cocky (but in a good way) in his semi final presser. if you compare the AO semi final presser to the FO where he met soderling or even wimby when he met roddick, he wasn't going on about how 'those guys don't have much of a chance cos they're playing me' and that kind of attitude. during the other GS's he said the usual stuff 'gonna be a tough match' 'give them credit' 'don't underestimate'. he was definitely more fired up and letting some zingers fly this time around compared to the usual stuff. of course, the term cocky can be seen as a negative and in the end, it wasn't negative at all and he lived up to all his comments. he's just usually not that fired up vocally before a final. but if i had been playing like he had been, heck, i would've been saying the same things!

    Tennis-X.com :: Xtreme Tennis News 2010

  • "Then what's the good of gettin 'cocky and calling it scarlet?"

    Page 7 2010

  • Burris was cocky from the very beginning, he said 'it was his RIGHT' to become senator ...

    Senate Ethics Committee admonishes Burris 2009

  • ` ` We knew this was the kind of game we couldn't go in cocky, '' he said.

    USATODAY.com - College Football - N. Colorado vs. Hawaii 2006

  • "Then what's the good of gettin 'cocky and calling it scarlet?"

    The Scarlet Plague 1912

  • He also has been called cocky, and some question his amateur eligibility.

    KansasCity.com: Front Page 2011

  • So, too, does Karlsson, who is so sure of himself that he has been described as "cocky."

    The Globe and Mail - Home RSS feed Roy MacGregor 2011

  • They sat on the beach at Cape May, New Jersey, back to back, Lindy’s long, white-blond hair wrapped around her by the wind, her expression cocky, sassy.

    Moments in Time Mariah Stewart 1995

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