cocky

«cocky» in Mova's school dictionary: Too confident and sure of yourself in an annoying or rude… — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples.

part of speech

adjective (cocky, cockier, cockiest — informal); noun (a cocky, cockies — Australia, informal)

meaning for a pupil

1) (informal) Too confident and sure of yourself in an annoying or rude way. tree →

2) (Australia, informal) A cockatoo, the noisy crested parrot. tree →

3) (Australia, informal) A farmer, especially a small farmer («a cow cocky»). tree →

sense in the lessons

In stories and sport it describes a show-off who is sure they will win, often before they lose. Coaches warn teams not to get cocky. In Australia, «cocky» is also a friendly name for a cockatoo or a farmer. It tells the reader someone thinks too much of themselves, or names an Australian bird or farmer.

examples

• He got cocky after winning and lost the next game. tree →
• Don't be so cocky — the test isn't marked yet. tree →
• The cocky hare stopped for a nap and the tortoise won. tree →
• A flock of cockies screeched in the gum trees. (Australia) tree →
• My uncle is a cocky with sheep and wheat. (Australia) tree →
• She gave a cocky grin as she crossed the finish line. tree →
• “Yes, he is rather cocky,” Wendy admitted with regret. tree →

note

Comparative cockier, superlative cockiest. Informal: avoid it in formal writing; formal words are «overconfident», «arrogant». Being confident is good; being cocky is too much.

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «cocky» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.