Jolly Roger

[ roj-er ]

noun
  1. a flag flown by pirates, having the device of a white skull and crossbones on a black field.

Origin of Jolly Roger

1
First recorded in 1775–85

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use Jolly Roger in a sentence

  • If they feel like followin' the Jolly Roger we'll give 'em the coast seaman's scale for a deep-water cruise and a five per cent.

    Captain Scraggs | Peter B. Kyne
  • That makes us pirates, and that old Maggie burgee floatin' at the fore ain't nothin' more nor less than the Jolly Roger.

    Captain Scraggs | Peter B. Kyne
  • So he was off and away, the bounding sea beneath him and the brave Jolly Roger floating over his head.

    Kate Bonnet | Frank R. Stockton
  • Jolly Roger's face was coldly gray as he knelt down on the floor and bent over Peter.

    The Country Beyond | James Oliver Curwood
  • Jolly Roger's breath cut itself suddenly short, and for an instant he grew tense as he bent over the stove.

    The Country Beyond | James Oliver Curwood

British Dictionary definitions for Jolly Roger

Jolly Roger

noun
  1. the traditional pirate flag, consisting of a white skull and crossbones on a black field

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Cultural definitions for Jolly Roger

Jolly Roger

A black flag with a white skull and crossbones, flown in past centuries by pirate ships.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.