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Glite Dictionary
Kilroy

Kilroy

1 9.9
A made-up name American soldiers wrote as graffiti in World War II to show they had been there
  • noun
  • /ˈkɪl.rɔɪ/
  • Archaic
: Kilroy
  • While exploring the old barracks, I noticed the words Kilroy was here scrawled in the corner.
  • Kilroy was here

He's who are a member of another school that are that are alive with the ink Kilroy.

Examples

  • And partly it was a kind of signature: Kilroy was here.

    Fiction book (1990)

  • Everywhere we went during the war, we found the familiar graffiti saying Kilroy was here.

  • "Kilroy was here," Zavala offered. "Kilroy was writing in Latin."

    Fiction book (1999)

  • We didn't have any graffiti, but we had this guy Kilroy...

    Kramer vs. Kramer (1979)

  • "Kilroy Was Here" finds adventure in the most unlikely setting and heroics among the most unlikely heroes.

    Fiction book (1996)

  • The soldiers often wrote Kilroy was here on the walls to mark their presence.

Surface Forms

Kilroy singular
Kilroys plural

Etymology

Kilroy comes from the famous phrase 'Kilroy was here' that American soldiers wrote during World War II to show they had been somewhere. One popular story says a ship inspector named James J. Kilroy wrote his name on ships to mark his checks, and troops copied it as a joke. That's why Kilroy now means a made-up name or a graffiti mark left to show someone's presence.