"toolie" means a tool dresser. It is one of many casual words teens pick up from friends, social media, music or sport, and on its own it carries no particular warning. If you hear your teen use it, it is fair to ask what they mean by it in their friend group, since meanings drift quickly. Asking out of curiosity rather than alarm tends to keep the conversation open and useful.
toolie
(colloquial, oil industry) A tool dresser.
Etymology timeline
Born ~2013 · no dated citations yetDefinitions
(colloquial, oil industry) A tool dresser.
"toolie" means a tool dresser. It is one of many casual words teens pick up from friends, social media, music or sport, and on its own it carries no particular warning. If you hear your teen use it, it is fair to ask what they mean by it in their friend group, since meanings drift quickly. Asking out of curiosity rather than alarm tends to keep the conversation open and useful.
"toolie" is informal English meaning a tool dresser. It is used widely across English varieties. A more formal or neutral equivalent would be something like "a tool dresser" expressed in standard vocabulary. A common mistake is to assume "toolie" can replace its standard equivalent in every register; keep it for spoken or casual situations and use the formal form in writing. If you are a B2 or C1 learner, it is useful to recognise this word when you hear or read it, but think carefully about whether the situation really calls for it before using it yourself.
“Rechercher Rechercher Fichier:View north from Toolie, Hermaness - geograph.org.uk - 1611317.jpg [Ajouter un sujet](https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fichier:View_north_from_Toolie,_Hermaness_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1611317.jpg#)”
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(slang, US, MTE, MLE, and possibly wider) A gun.
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(Australia, slang) An adult reveller who deliberately travels to a destination where schoolies congregate, often to solicit sex from them.
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For specific readers
Why is this section here?
Slang is read by different audiences for very different reasons. The For parents view re-explains the term in plain, non-judgemental language so a caregiver can understand what their child means without needing the surrounding subculture. The For English learners view focuses on register (when it's safe to use), formal alternatives, and common mistakes — what a textbook won't teach you.
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🇦🇺About Australian & NZ slang slang
Aussie and Kiwi vocabulary — bogan, daggy, brekkie, sheila, bach, jandals — the whole Antipodean lexicon, including outback dialect, surf and beach culture, and Sydney/Melbourne street slang.
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