Murphy

UK: /ˈmɜːfi/ US: (mûr′fē)

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

Murphy / ˈmɜːfɪ/ noun

1. Alex. born 1939, English rugby league player and coach; scored 16 tries in 27 test matches for Great Britain (1958–71)
2. Eddie, full name Edward Regan Murphy. born 1951, US film actor and comedian. His films include 48 Hours (1982), Beverly Hills Cop (1984), Coming to America (1988), Dr Dolittle (1998), and, as a voice artist, the Shrek series of animated films (2001–10)
3. William Parry. 1892–1987, US physician: with G. R. Minot, he discovered the liver treatment for anaemia and they shared, with G. H. Whipple, the Nobel prize for physiology or medicine in 1934

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

mur•phy  (mûr′fē), n., pl. -phies, v., -phied, -phy•ing. [Slang.]
n. 

1. Food an Irish or white potato.
2. any of various confidence games in which a victim is left with a sealed envelope supposedly containing money, but which contains only newspaper or scrap paper cut to the same size as paper money.

v.t. 

3. to victimize or dupe in such a manner.

• special uses of Murphy, a typical Irish surname 1805–15

Mur•phy  (mûr′fē), n. 

1. Biographical Frank, 1890–1949, U.S. statesman and jurist: associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court 1940–49.
2. Biographical Isaac, 1861–96, U.S. thoroughbred racehorse jockey.

William Par•ry  (par′ē), born 1892, U.S. physician: Nobel prize for medicine 1934.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

murphy / ˈmɜːfɪ/ noun ( -phies)

1. a dialect or informal word for potato

Etymology: 19th Century: from the common Irish surname Murphy