noun
whatchamacallit
WOT-shuh-muh-kaw-liht
noun
1
An informal word for an object whose name you can't remember or don't know.
"Pass me the whatchamacallit, the thing that opens jars."
"He fixed it with some whatchamacallit from the garage."
How to Use Whatchamacallit
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishA playful stand-in word for "thing" when the real name has slipped your mind.
When to use it
Very informal and spoken — never used in formal writing.
Common pairings
that whatchamacallit
the whatchamacallit thing
Word Forms
whatchamacallits plural, whatchamacallem plural, whatchamacall'em plural
Study it as flashcards or scroll it in Flow — saved to your collection.
Test yourself on “whatchamacallit”
A quick quiz — meaning, synonyms & usage
→
Fill the Gap
Can you complete this real example?
Pass me the _____, the thing that opens jars.
Etymology
A run-together, shortened form of "what you may call it," first recorded in the early 1920s in the United States.