doodad

See also: doo-dad

English

Alternative forms

• doo-dad (rare)
• dodad, do-dad (rare)

Etymology

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Noun

doodad (plural doodads)

1. A thing (used in a vague way to refer to something whose name one cannot recall); especially an unspecified gadget, device, or part.

   My mom has a clever doodad for peeling oranges.

   • 1939, Raymond Chandler, The Big Sleep

     The room was too big, the ceiling was too high, the doors were too tall, and the white carpet that went from wall to wall looked like a fresh fall of snow at Lake Arrowhead. There were full-length mirrors and crystal doodads all over the place.

Synonyms

• (UK) doodah
• See also Thesaurus:thingy

Translations

thingy — see thingy

Further reading

• Wikipedia article on placeholder names
• “doodad” in Douglas Harper, Online Etymology Dictionary, 2001–2019.