English Reference
noun

elvis

n.
US /ˈɛɫvɪs/ elvis

  1. 01 B1 Intermediate Music

    Elvis Presley, a very famous American rock and roll singer from the 1950s to the 1970s.

    Elvis Presley (1935–1977), the American singer and actor widely regarded as one of the most significant cultural icons of the 20th century.

    Simple

    My grandmother still has all her old Elvis records in the attic.

    In context

    The cultural impact of Elvis on the development of rock and roll remains a central topic in modern musicology.

    elvis presleythe king
  2. 02 B2 Upper Intermediate

    a performer who dresses like Elvis Presley and sings his songs.

    A professional or amateur performer who mimics the appearance, voice, and stage presence of Elvis Presley.

    Simple

    We saw a great Elvis at the talent show last night.

    In context

    The annual festival in Parkes attracts hundreds of Elvises from across the globe, each competing for the title of best tribute artist.

    tribute artistimpersonator
  3. 03 C2 Proficiency Technical Computing

    a shortcut in computer code that gives a default value if something is missing.

    A binary operator (written as ?:) that returns its first operand if it is non-null, and its second operand otherwise.

    Simple

    You can use the Elvis operator to keep your code short and clean.

    In context

    The developer refactored the conditional logic using an Elvis operator to handle potential null pointer exceptions more elegantly.

    Usage

    The term is derived from the operator's appearance (?:), which resembles Elvis Presley's hair quiff when viewed sideways.

    null coalescing operator

One rock’n’roll themed ice lolly bears a wonky image of Elvis and features an Elton John trivia game on the wrapper.

The Guardian· 11 Aug 2026

From the anglicisation of the Irish name of Saint Ailbe (Saint Elvis), also known as Saint Eilfyw or Eilfw. Ultimate origin is uncertain.

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This entry
Level C2 · Proficiency
Frequency Frequent
Updated