What does "bogey" mean?
A ghost, goblin, or other hostile supernatural creature.
Bogey
/bəʊɡi/ name, noun, verb, slang
name, noun, verb, slang ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A ghost, goblin, or other hostile supernatural creature.
- Grammar: bogey is listed as name, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: bogie, abomination, air armada, air force.
- Useful contrasts: albatross, albatrosses, angel.
- Usage evidence: Tom has just made a triple bogey.
How to use "bogey"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "bogey" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "bogey" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "bogey" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "bogey" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "bogey" is acting as name, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "bogie" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
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Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "bogey", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A ghost, goblin, or other hostile supernatural creature.
- 2 A bog-standard (representative) specimen taken from the center of production. UK
- 3 A swim or bathe; a bath. Australia
"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."
- 4 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”). alt-of, alternative
- 5 an unidentified (and possibly enemy) aircraft wordnet
Show 13 more definitions
- 6 The Devil. archaic, capitalized, often, usually, with-definite-article
- 7 Alternative spelling of bogie (“hand-operated truck or trolley”). alt-of, alternative
- 8 a bogle or goblin; where used as a proper name, the Devil wordnet
- 9 A bugbear: any terrifying thing. figuratively
"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."
- 10 Alternative spelling of bogie (“railway carriage”). British, India, alt-of, alternative, dated
"Upgrading the tram bogeys to air-conditioned bogeys costs the State Government approximately INR 25,00,000/- per bogey."
- 11 (golf) a score of one stroke over par on a hole wordnet
- 12 A police officer. British, slang
- 13 A standard of performance set up as a mark to be aimed at in competition.
- 14 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 radiation stickers; many of those outward bound, he knew, carried fragments of the bogey. He was not privy to what they were finding."
- 15 Synonym of bandit: an enemy aircraft. proscribed, slang
"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?"
- 16 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.’"
- 17 A score of one over par on a hole.
- 18 A piece of mucus in or removed from the nostril; a booger. UK
Verb
- 1 To make a bogey on (a particular hole). ambitransitive
- 2 To swim; to bathe. Australia
- 3 to shoot in one stroke over par wordnet
Proper Noun
- 1 A male given name.
"Bogey's voice is breaking. When he speaks he rushes up and down the scale."
- 2 Humphrey Bogart (1899–1957), American film and stage actor. informal
"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.”"
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
Example
"Tom has just made a triple bogey."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "bogey"?
Common synonyms include: bogie, abomination, air armada, air force, apparition, bandit.
How do you use "bogey" in a sentence?
Tom has just made a triple bogey.
How do you pronounce "bogey"?
Pronounced /bəʊɡi/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
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.
Etymology 2
Clipping of bog-standard + -ey (diminutive suffix).
Etymology 3
From Dharug bugi- (“to bathe, dive”).
Etymology 4
A variant of bogie.
Etymology 5
From Bogart + -y.