Meanings
nounwhatchamacallit (plural whatchamacallits or whatchamacallem or whatchamacall'em)
plural whatchamacallits · plural whatchamacallem · plural whatchamacall'em · alternative what-you-may-call-it
- colloquialA metasyntactic term used for any object whose actual name the speaker does not know or cannot remember; a doodad, gizmo, thingamajig, thingy.
The Thingamajig and the Wachamacallit.
1921, Johnny Gruelle, Orphant Annie Story Book, Volume 7, page 695 more examples
You’re—you must be the whatchamacallit, huh? The peer.
1969, J[ames] P[inckney] Miller, stage adaptation by F. Andrew Leslie, The People Next Door, New York, N.Y.: Dramatists Play Service, →OCLC, act II, page 42JESSICA: How many times do I have to say it? We were not stealing, Officer. We were just— / MONAHAN: I know. Performing some kind of whatchamacallit deed. Anyhow, they go to the clink, that's what happens to people who filch city property.
1972, Carolyn Lane, Child of Air: A One Act Play, Denver, Colo.: Pioneer Drama Service, →OCLC, page 13I'm a boy, so when I'm sick, they can call in poohaghooma, Indian doctor. But not Tom Mitchell! No, sir! [We] won't have Tom Mitchell to doctor me! 'Cause whatchamacallit, he always used to doctor me …
1996, Corbett Mack, as told by Michael Hittman, “Boyhood (1892–1905)”, in Corbett Mack: The Life of a Northern Paiute (Studies in the Anthropology of North American Indians), Lincoln, Neb.; London: University of Nebraska Press, →ISBN, page 60"Think we ought to check this whatchamacallit?" / "No, that doodad over there seems to be the problem."
1998, David Alan Black, “There’s No Place Like Rome: The Parts of Speech and Their Function”, in It’s still Greek to Me: An Easy-to-understand Guide to Intermediate Greek, Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Books, →ISBN, page 19You know, he looked at everybody and everything but not me as if just by letting his eyes rest on me for a moment would let out that he and I are having a whatchamacalit.
2001 [1992], Russell Heng, Lest the Demons Get to Me, revised version January 2001, via National Library Board Singapore, Act 1, page 4Synonyms: thingy
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA metasyntactic term used for any object whose actual name the speaker does not know or cannot remember; a doodad, gizmo, thingamajig, thingy.
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More synonyms by meaning
nounsomething unspecified whose name is either forgotten or not known
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Broader
Also see
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
Translations
Ancient Greek σκινδαψός
- σκινδαψός (skindapsós)any object the actual name of which the speaker does not know or cannot remember
Bulgarian такова
- такова (takova)any object the actual name of which the speaker does not know or cannot remember
Catalan daixonses
- daixonsesany object the actual name of which the speaker does not know or cannot remember
Chinese Cantonese 咩嘢, 乜東東 /乜东东
- 咩嘢any object the actual name of which the speaker does not know or cannot remember
- 乜東東 /乜东东any object the actual name of which the speaker does not know or cannot remember
- 某 (mau⁵)any object the actual name of which the speaker does not know or cannot remember
- 嗰 (go²)any object the actual name of which the speaker does not know or cannot remember
Chinese Mandarin 那个那个, 那个东西
- 那个那个any object the actual name of which the speaker does not know or cannot remember
- 那个东西any object the actual name of which the speaker does not know or cannot remember
- 東東 /东东 (dōngdōng)any object the actual name of which the speaker does not know or cannot remember
Czech tentononc
- tentononcany object the actual name of which the speaker does not know or cannot remember
Danish dingenot, dimsedut
- dingenotany object the actual name of which the speaker does not know or cannot remember
- dimsedutany object the actual name of which the speaker does not know or cannot remember
- dippedutany object the actual name of which the speaker does not know or cannot remember
- himsterginsany object the actual name of which the speaker does not know or cannot remember
- himstregimsany object the actual name of which the speaker does not know or cannot remember
Dutch dinges
- dingesany object the actual name of which the speaker does not know or cannot remember
Esperanto umo, aĵaĵo
- umoany object the actual name of which the speaker does not know or cannot remember
- aĵaĵoany object the actual name of which the speaker does not know or cannot remember
Finnish hilavitkutin
- hilavitkutinany object the actual name of which the speaker does not know or cannot remember
French bidule, truc
- biduleany object the actual name of which the speaker does not know or cannot remember
- trucany object the actual name of which the speaker does not know or cannot remember
- trucmucheany object the actual name of which the speaker does not know or cannot remember
- machinany object the actual name of which the speaker does not know or cannot remember
- machin-choseany object the actual name of which the speaker does not know or cannot remember
- schmilblickany object the actual name of which the speaker does not know or cannot remember
German Dingsbums, Dingsda
- Dingsbumsany object the actual name of which the speaker does not know or cannot remember
- Dingsdaany object the actual name of which the speaker does not know or cannot remember
- Krimskramsany object the actual name of which the speaker does not know or cannot remember
Greek πώς το λένε
- πώς το λένε (pós to léne)any object the actual name of which the speaker does not know or cannot remember
Hebrew מַה שְּׁמוֹ
- מַה שְּׁמוֹ (ma shmo)any object the actual name of which the speaker does not know or cannot remember
Hungarian izé, hogyishívják
- izéany object the actual name of which the speaker does not know or cannot remember
- hogyishívjákany object the actual name of which the speaker does not know or cannot remember
- hogyhívjákany object the actual name of which the speaker does not know or cannot remember
- bizbaszany object the actual name of which the speaker does not know or cannot remember
- szirszarany object the actual name of which the speaker does not know or cannot remember
Icelandic dæmi, fídus
- dæmiany object the actual name of which the speaker does not know or cannot remember
- fídusany object the actual name of which the speaker does not know or cannot remember
Indonesian anu
- anuany object the actual name of which the speaker does not know or cannot remember
Italian coso, vattelapesca
- cosoany object the actual name of which the speaker does not know or cannot remember
- vattelapescaany object the actual name of which the speaker does not know or cannot remember
Japanese 何とか, 何々
- 何とか (nantoka)any object the actual name of which the speaker does not know or cannot remember
- 何々 (naninani)any object the actual name of which the speaker does not know or cannot remember
Korean 거시기, 뭐시기
- 거시기 (geosigi)any object the actual name of which the speaker does not know or cannot remember
- 뭐시기 (mwosigi)any object the actual name of which the speaker does not know or cannot remember
Polish wihajster, ustrojstwo
- wihajsterany object the actual name of which the speaker does not know or cannot remember
- ustrojstwoany object the actual name of which the speaker does not know or cannot remember
- śmegesany object the actual name of which the speaker does not know or cannot remember
- tentegesany object the actual name of which the speaker does not know or cannot remember
- dzyndzelany object the actual name of which the speaker does not know or cannot remember
- dynksany object the actual name of which the speaker does not know or cannot remember
- pierdzielnikany object the actual name of which the speaker does not know or cannot remember
- gżdynksany object the actual name of which the speaker does not know or cannot remember
- pipsztykany object the actual name of which the speaker does not know or cannot remember
Portuguese coisa, negócio
- coisaany object the actual name of which the speaker does not know or cannot remember
- negócioany object the actual name of which the speaker does not know or cannot remember
- trecoany object the actual name of which the speaker does not know or cannot remember
- troçoany object the actual name of which the speaker does not know or cannot remember
- bagulhoany object the actual name of which the speaker does not know or cannot remember
- paradaany object the actual name of which the speaker does not know or cannot remember
- bagaçaany object the actual name of which the speaker does not know or cannot remember
- paradinhaany object the actual name of which the speaker does not know or cannot remember
Russian ка́к его́, ка́к её
- ка́к его́any object the actual name of which the speaker does not know or cannot remember
- ка́к еёany object the actual name of which the speaker does not know or cannot remember
- ка́к ихany object the actual name of which the speaker does not know or cannot remember
- шту́ка (štúka)any object the actual name of which the speaker does not know or cannot remember
- бандура (bandura)any object the actual name of which the speaker does not know or cannot remember
Slovak oné
- onéany object the actual name of which the speaker does not know or cannot remember
Spanish chisme, chunche
- chismeany object the actual name of which the speaker does not know or cannot remember
- chuncheany object the actual name of which the speaker does not know or cannot remember
- chingaderaany object the actual name of which the speaker does not know or cannot remember
- cosoany object the actual name of which the speaker does not know or cannot remember
- vainaany object the actual name of which the speaker does not know or cannot remember
- comosellamaany object the actual name of which the speaker does not know or cannot remember
Swedish mojäng, grunka
- mojängany object the actual name of which the speaker does not know or cannot remember
- grunkaany object the actual name of which the speaker does not know or cannot remember
- mackapärany object the actual name of which the speaker does not know or cannot remember
Tagalog yung ano
- yung anoany object the actual name of which the speaker does not know or cannot remember
Turkish zımbırtı, zamazingo
- zımbırtıany object the actual name of which the speaker does not know or cannot remember
- zamazingoany object the actual name of which the speaker does not know or cannot remember
Ukrainian я́к його́, я́к її́
- я́к його́any object the actual name of which the speaker does not know or cannot remember
- я́к її́any object the actual name of which the speaker does not know or cannot remember
- я́к їхany object the actual name of which the speaker does not know or cannot remember
Welsh pethma, bechingalw
- pethmaany object the actual name of which the speaker does not know or cannot remember
- bechingalwany object the actual name of which the speaker does not know or cannot remember
Zulu ilokhuzane
- ilokhuzaneany object the actual name of which the speaker does not know or cannot remember
Cite this entry
APA
whatchamacallit. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/whatchamacallit
MLA
“whatchamacallit.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/whatchamacallit. Accessed November 3, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “whatchamacallit,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/whatchamacallit.
Source: whatchamacallit on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.