Meanings
alternative heebee-geebees · alternative heebee geebees · alternative heebeegeebees · alternative heebygeebies · alternative heebee-jeebees · alternative heebee jeebees · alternative heebeejeebees · alternative heebie jeebies · alternative heebiejeebies · alternative heeby-jeebies · alternative heeby jeebies · alternative heebyjeebies · alternative heeby-jeebys · alternative heeby jeebys
- USinformalpluralplural onlyA general feeling of anxiety, fear, uneasiness, or nausea.
P.U., that outhouse gives me the heebie-jeebies!
2 more examples
I don't mind worms, but spiders give me the heebie-jeebies.
When I see that weird house, I get the heebie-jeebies.
Synonyms: creeps, willies, collywobbles, fear
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA general feeling of anxiety, fear, uneasiness, or nausea.
More synonyms by meaning
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
Probably onomatopoeic. The earliest found occurrences of spelling variants (it is not established whether the first one coined the term or committed to print an earlier oral expression): * In 1923, the spelling "heeby jeebys" was used by U.S. cartoonist Billy De Beck in his comic strip Barney Google (New York American, 26 October 1923). * In 1925, the spelling "heebee-jeebees" was used in U.S. magazine Ladies' Home Journal (Vol. 42, Part 2, p. 44). * In 1926, the spelling "heebie jeebies" was used by U.S. singer Louis Armstrong for his single "Heebie Jeebies" (written by Boyd Atkins). * In 1928, the spelling "heebee-geebees" was used in U.S. article "We All Have the Heebee-Geebees" by G. M. Keller of Swift & Company (Modern School Store, Vol. 11, p. 269 via Google Books). * In 1956, the spelling "heeby jeebies" was used by U.S. singer Little Richard on the cover of his homonymous SP record (and the hyphenated spelling "heeby-jeebies" on its vinyl disc itself).
Full word history & related roots →Translations
German Angstzustände, Gänsehaut
- Angstzuständea general feeling of anxiety, fear, uneasiness, or nausea
- Gänsehauta general feeling of anxiety, fear, uneasiness, or nausea
Hungarian frász, ijedtség
- frásza general feeling of anxiety, fear, uneasiness, or nausea
- ijedtséga general feeling of anxiety, fear, uneasiness, or nausea
- ijedséga general feeling of anxiety, fear, uneasiness, or nausea
- ijedelema general feeling of anxiety, fear, uneasiness, or nausea
- rémületa general feeling of anxiety, fear, uneasiness, or nausea
- félelema general feeling of anxiety, fear, uneasiness, or nausea
- szorongása general feeling of anxiety, fear, uneasiness, or nausea
- libabőra general feeling of anxiety, fear, uneasiness, or nausea
- borzongása general feeling of anxiety, fear, uneasiness, or nausea
- hidegrázása general feeling of anxiety, fear, uneasiness, or nausea
- borsódzik a háta (tőle)a general feeling of anxiety, fear, uneasiness, or nausea
Polish ciarki
- ciarkia general feeling of anxiety, fear, uneasiness, or nausea
Spanish yuyu, canguelo
- yuyua general feeling of anxiety, fear, uneasiness, or nausea
- cangueloa general feeling of anxiety, fear, uneasiness, or nausea
Cite this entry
heebie-jeebies. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/heebie-jeebies
“heebie-jeebies.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/heebie-jeebies. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “heebie-jeebies,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/heebie-jeebies.
Source: heebie-jeebies on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.