friend of Bill W.

noun

A recovering alcoholic, especially one who is a member of the organization Alcoholics Anonymous.

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Meanings

nounfriend of Bill W. (plural friends of Bill W.)

plural friends of Bill W. · alternative friend of Bill · alternative friend of Bill's

  1. euphemisticidiomaticA recovering alcoholic, especially one who is a member of the organization Alcoholics Anonymous.

    He was a friend of Bill W. and had just celebrated Ten Years of Sobriety.

    1994 May 31, “Obituary: Middletown BRIAN EDWARD CRAWFORD”, in Providence Journal, USA, page D10
    2 more examples

    The Sandy Beaches cruise offers Alcoholics Anonymous meetings billed simply as Friends of Bill W.

    2003 February 23, Lynne Margolis, “Delbert McClinton rocks the boat for music lovers”, in Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, retrieved 08 Jul 2011

    Most people in recovery know that asking if you are a friend of Bill W. is an anonymous way to identify yourself as a member of AA.

    2004, Jack Canfield et al., Chicken Soup for the Recovering Soul,, →ISBN, page 49

Origin

An allusion to William Griffith Wilson (1895–1971), known as “Bill W.”, one of the founders of Alcoholics Anonymous.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

friend of Bill W.. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/friend%20of%20Bill%20W.

MLA

“friend of Bill W..” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/friend%20of%20Bill%20W.. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “friend of Bill W.,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/friend%20of%20Bill%20W..

Source: friend of Bill W. on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.