Meanings
halligan1
plural halligans
- A tool, used mostly by firemen, to pry open buildings, manholes, wrecked cars, etc.
Synonyms: Halligan bar, Halligan tool, hooligan tool
Halligan2
plural Halligans
- A surname from Irish.
President Donald Trump’s hand-picked interim US Attorney Lindsey Halligan has fired more senior prosecutors from the Eastern District of Virginia office, two sources familiar with the matter told CNN.
2025 October 17, Kristen Holmes, “Lindsey Halligan fires more prosecutors in key US attorney’s office”, in CNN
plural Halligans
- alternativeAlternative form of halligan; Ellipsis of Halligan bar.
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA tool, used mostly by firemen, to pry open buildings, manholes, wrecked cars, etc.
Origin
Halligan · proper noun, noun
- IrishÓ hÁilleagáin“descendant of Áilleagán”
- EnglishHalligan
Reduced Anglicized form of Irish Ó hÁilleagáin (“descendant of Áilleagán”), a double diminutive of áille (“beauty”).
More words from Irish
Full word history & related roots →Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
halligan. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/halligan
“halligan.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/halligan. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “halligan,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/halligan.
Source: halligan on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.