Standard Lemma guide
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
noun
Nerve, spunk, strength of character.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: US, informal, uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: spirit, backbone, determination, fortitude
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Verve.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: US, informal, uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: vigor, pep, energy, initiative
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Wit, smarts, skill.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: US, informal, uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: know-how
Antonyms: none provided
noun
fortitude and determination
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Synonyms: backbone, grit, guts, sand, gumption
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: fortitude
History
First recorded use in 1930. From the name of an American soft drink Moxie made since 1885 to which advertisement ascribed many beneficial properties directly but also indirectly by using the same name as a patent medicine first manufactured in 1878. The word appears in very many place names in Maine, especially of falls and ponds, as well as the local name of a plant, the moxie-plum, and is perhaps ultimately from an Abenaki word meaning 'dark water' or an Algonquian root maski- meaning 'herbal infusion'.
Across languages
22 source translations are retained for this English entry.
