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boo

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boo¹

  • /buː/

Rhymes with -uː

Where it comes from

From earlier (15c.) boh, coined to create a loud and startling sound. Compare Middle English bus! (“bang!”, interjection), Latin boō (“cry aloud, roar, shout”, verb), Ancient Greek βοάω (boáō, “shout”, verb).

interjection

  1. A loud exclamation intended to scare someone. Usually used when one has been hidden from the target, and then appears unexpectedly. Often used in playful or jokeful context.
  2. An exclamation used by a member of an audience, as at a stage play or sporting event, to indicate derision or disapproval. I ask them to record their votes in my favour, and I ask, is there any man who will dare to call me a stranger (hear, hear, and booing)?

noun boos

  1. A derisive shout of the word 'boo' made to indicate disapproval. ...Hodgson headed down the tunnel with the boos of fans ringing in his ears after an eighth league defeat of the season...

Opposite: cheer

verb boos · booing · booed

  1. intransitive To shout extended boos derisively. When he took the podium, the crowd booed.

    Similar: hoot · Opposite: cheer

  2. transitive To shout extended boos at, as a form of disapproval or derision. The protesters loudly booed the visiting senator.

    Similar: hoot, badger, barrack, gird, heckle, jeer, roast, taunt, tease · Opposite: cheer, acclaim, acclamate, applaud, hail, barrack, beclap, cheer on, clap, encheer, hurrah, hurray

boo²

  • /buː/

Rhymes with -uː

Where it comes from

From beau, from French beau. First appears c. 1988 in the Washington Post: See the cite below.

noun boos

  1. Canada, US, slang A close acquaintance or significant other. A tall, hooded young woman, clutching a newspaper article, delivered a note to the judge. “My name is Sunkist,” she wrote, “Lionel R. Harris is my boyfriend. Lewis shot my Boo and it was not self-defense . . . . Judge and jurors please listen to me I am 17 years of {age} and a good young lady and my

boo³

  • /buː/

Rhymes with -uː

Where it comes from

Of unknown origin, possibly from boojum, from a fancied resemblance of the plants. First appears c. 1959 in Esquire Magazine.

noun

  1. slang, uncountable Cannabis. […] sexually promiscuous girl who smoked boo all day and socialized with junkies when she wasn't busy banging away in bed […]

    Similar: bhang, benj, boo, broccoli, bud, buddha, cannabis, cheeba, choof, daccha, dank, devil's lettuce

boo⁴

  • /buː/

Rhymes with -uː

Where it comes from

Likely onomatopoeic.

verb boos · booing · booed

  1. Northern England, archaic, intransitive To make a sound characteristic of cattle; to moo. The cow's tether is put about the neck of the individual who has lost the cow, and he must go about booing like a cow till atonement is made.

boo⁵

  • /buː/

Rhymes with -uː

Where it comes from

Dubious; perhaps adaptation of French beau (“beautiful”).

noun boos

  1. A tail feather from an ostrich. Burglary.—On Monday night or early on Tuesday morning, some thieves effected an entrance into the premises of Mr. W. J. Laybourne, ostrich feather manufacturer, 60, St. John-street, West Smithfield, and carried off 1,000 prime white feathers, 500 long single black, 800 double ditto, 3,000 mixed colo

Boo⁶

Where it comes from

From Swedish Boo.

proper noun Boos

  1. countable, uncountable A community in Nacka, Stockholm, central Sweden.
  2. countable, uncountable A surname from Swedish

Boo⁷

proper noun

  1. The Boko language.

Boo⁸

Where it comes from

From Malay Boo, from Min Nan 巫 ( Chinese 巫 ). Transliteration of Min Nan 巫.

proper noun Boos · Woo · Wu

  1. A surname from Chinese

Boo⁹

Where it comes from

From Korean 부 (bu), from Korean 夫, from Chinese 夫. Transliteration of Korean 부 (bu).

proper noun Boos · Bu · Pu

  1. A surname from Korean

Boo10

Where it comes from

Borrowed from Dutch de Boo.

proper noun Boos · de Boo · De Boo · deBoo · DeBoo · Deboo

  1. A surname from Dutch

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: hoot, hiss, bronx cheer, snort, bird, raspberry, razzing, loo, ooh, jeer, whoo, shame, peek, puny, pfft, cute

noun

Opposite: cheer

Translations

Every language

intj loud exclamation intended to scare someone

Españolbu
한국어부 bu
日本語ばあ baa
中文嘣 bèng, 哇 wà, 喲 /哟 yò, 嘿 hèi
Portuguêsbu
Françaisbouh, hou
Deutschbuh
Ελληνικάμπου bou
Românăbau
Русскийбу bu, фу fu, шш šš
Tiếng Việthù

intj word used ironically in a situation where one might have scared someone, but said someone was not scared

Españoluuh
Portuguêsbu
Deutschbuh
Românăbau

intj exclamation used by a member of an audience

日本語ブー bū
中文噓 /嘘 xū, 噓聲 /嘘声 xūshēng, 喝倒彩 hèdàocǎi, 吁 yū
Portuguêsbu
Françaisbouh
Deutschbuh
Ελληνικάου ou
Românăhuo
עבריתבּוּז búz

noun derisive shout

Españolabucheo, befa
日本語ブーイング būingu, ブー bū
中文噓聲 /嘘声 xūshēng, 喝倒彩 hèdàocǎi
Portuguêsvaia, apupo
DeutschBuhruf
Русскийши́канье šíkanʹje, осви́стывание osvístyvanije

verb to shout boos at (transitive)

Deutschausbuhen
Русскийосви́стывать osvístyvatʹ, освиста́ть osvistátʹ
עבריתבָּז baz

verb to shout boos derisively (intransitive)

Españolabuchear
日本語野次る yajiru, ブーイングする būingu suru
中文喝倒彩 hèdàocǎi, 噓 /嘘 xū
Portuguêsvaiar, apupar
Françaishuer
Deutschbuhen
Ελληνικάμπου bou
Русскийши́кать šíkatʹ, заши́кать zašíkatʹ, осви́стывать osvístyvatʹ, освиста́ть osvistátʹ

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Cite this
MLA

"boo." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/boo. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

boo. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/boo

Chicago

"boo." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/boo.

BibTeX
@misc{boo_2026,
  title = {boo},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/boo},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}