chivvy
verb /ˈtʃɪvi/
/ˈtʃɪvi/
Verb Forms
| present simple I / you / we / they chivvy | /ˈtʃɪvi/ /ˈtʃɪvi/ |
| he / she / it chivvies | /ˈtʃɪviz/ /ˈtʃɪviz/ |
| past simple chivvied | /ˈtʃɪvid/ /ˈtʃɪvid/ |
| past participle chivvied | /ˈtʃɪvid/ /ˈtʃɪvid/ |
| -ing form chivvying | /ˈtʃɪviɪŋ/ /ˈtʃɪviɪŋ/ |
- to try and make somebody hurry or do something quickly, especially when they do not want to do it
- chivvy somebody into (doing) something He chivvied them into the car.
- chivvy somebody along If you don’t chivvy the others along, we’ll never get there on time.
Word Originlate 18th cent.: probably from the ballad Chevy Chase, celebrating a skirmish (probably the battle of Otterburn, 1388) on the Scottish border (but often mistakenly thought to be a place name). Originally a noun denoting a hunting cry, the term later meant ‘a pursuit’, hence the verb ‘to chase, worry’ (mid 19th cent.).