bogey
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bogey¹
- /bəʊɡi/ UK
- /boʊɡi/ US
Sounds like bogie, bogy · Rhymes with -əʊɡi
Where it comes from
Probably related to or alteration of bogle, akin to or from a variant of Middle English bugge (“frightening specter, scarecrow”) (whence bug), itself of uncertain origin: perhaps from obsolete Welsh bwg (“ghost, hobgoblin”); compare Welsh bwgwl (“threat”, older “fear”), Irish bagairt (“threat”), but perhaps the root was borrowed from Germanic. Otherwise from Proto-Germanic *bugja- (“swollen up, thick”); compare Norwegian bugge (“big man”), dialectal Low German Bögge and Alemannic German Böögg (“goblin”, “snot”).
See also Proto-Germanic *pūkô (“a goblin, spook”), Old English pūca (“goblin, mischievous spirit”), Icelandic púki Swedish puke (“small devil, spook”), whence obsolete English puck. Perhaps the Middle English and Welsh words come from a word related to buck and originally referred to a goat-shaped specter. Compare also booger.
The golf sense is from the devil as an imaginary player. The sometimes proscribed conflation with bandit was popularized by the 1986 film Top Gun.
noun bogeys · bogie · bogy
-
A ghost, goblin, or other hostile supernatural creature.
Similar: goblin
- The Devil.
- A bugbear: any terrifying thing. If one man could be said to be responsible for the creation of the Russian bogy, it was a much-decorated British general named Sir Robert Wilson.
- A police officer.
- A standard of performance set up as a mark to be aimed at in competition.
- An unidentified aircraft, especially as observed as a spot on a radar screen and suspected to be hostile. He stood on the sand near the gravel road that passed within two miles of the site of the disintegrated bogey, binoculars hanging on a leather strap from his neck, face streaming with sweat under the brim of his hat... Army and government trucks passed along the road every few minutes, some bearing
-
Synonym of bandit: an enemy aircraft.
God dammit, Mustang! This is Ghost Rider 117. This bogey is all over me. He's got missile lock on me. Do I have permission to fire?
Similar: bandit
- The notional opponent of a golfer playing alone. ‘I was just having a practice round against bogey,’ he said. ‘I caddied for myself, so there were no witnesses.’
- A score of one over par on a hole.
- A piece of mucus in or removed from the nostril; a booger.
verb bogeys · bogeying · bogeyed · bogied
- To make a bogey on (a particular hole).
bogey²
- /bəʊɡi/ UK
- /boʊɡi/ US
Sounds like bogie, bogy · Rhymes with -əʊɡi
Where it comes from
Clipping of bog-standard + -ey (diminutive suffix).
noun bogeys · bogie · bogy
- A bog-standard (representative) specimen taken from the center of production.
bogey³
- /bəʊɡi/ UK
- /boʊɡi/ US
Sounds like bogie, bogy · Rhymes with -əʊɡi
Where it comes from
From Dharug bugi- (“to bathe, dive”).
verb bogeys · bogeying · bogeyed · bogie · bogy
- To swim; to bathe.
noun bogeys · bogie · bogy
- A swim or bathe; a bath. My mother would use leaves from trees to make soap for washing our bodies with, and unfortunately for us kids there was no excuse not to take a bogey.
bogey⁴
- /bəʊɡi/ UK
- /boʊɡi/ US
Sounds like bogie, bogy · Rhymes with -əʊɡi
Where it comes from
A variant of bogie.
noun bogeys · bogie · bogy
- Alternative spelling of bogie (“one of two sets of wheels under a locomotive or railcar; also, a structure with axles and wheels under a locomotive, railcar, or semi which provides support and reduces vibration for the vehicle”).
- Alternative spelling of bogie (“hand-operated truck or trolley”).
- Alternative spelling of bogie (“railway carriage”). Upgrading the tram bogeys to air-conditioned bogeys costs the State Government approximately INR 25,00,000/- per bogey.
Bogey⁵
Where it comes from
Clipping of Bogart + -ey.
proper noun
- A male given name. Bogey's voice is breaking. When he speaks he rushes up and down the scale.
- Humphrey Bogart (1899–1957), American film and stage actor. In quintessential roles, Bogart and Bergman are former lovers reunited in wartorn Casablanca. Bogey is the cynical cafe owner who lives by his own moral code and sticks his neck out for “no one.”
Translations
Every language
noun euphemism for devil
| Deutsch | Gottseibeiuns |
|---|
noun unidentified aircraft
| Español | aeronave no identificada |
|---|---|
| Русский | неопо́знанный самолёт neopóznannyj samoljót |
noun enemy aircraft
| Español | aeronave enemiga |
|---|
Talk about this word "bogey." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/bogey. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. bogey. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/bogey "bogey." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/bogey.Cite this
@misc{bogey_2026,
title = {bogey},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/bogey},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
