Bonzer

//ˈbɒnzə// adj, noun, slang

adj, noun, slang ·Moderate ·High school level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    An excellent person or thing. Australia, New-Zealand, informal, obsolete

    "King Ned is a "bonzer"."

Adjective
  1. 1
    Remarkable; wonderful; excellent; terrific. Australia, New-Zealand, informal

    "To see their faces brighten and to hear their 'Thanks Cobber, that was bonzer!' was a joy"

Adjective
  1. 1
    remarkable or wonderful wordnet

Example

More examples

"To see their faces brighten and to hear their 'Thanks Cobber, that was bonzer!' was a joy"

Etymology

Entered use 1890s, origin unknown. In 2020 James Lambert reviewed previous theories, and supports derivation from: * boncer (“large marble”) < bouncer (“something prodigiously large”) Lambert also notes as not supported by evidence: * bonanza * French bon (“good”) * "more fanciful" suggestions: ** born star ** Japanese 万歳 (banzai, “long live..., huzzah, hurrah”) ** bonnie

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.