Bunyip
name, noun, slang ·Moderate ·College level
Definitions
- 1 A mythical Australian monster, said to inhabit swamps and lagoons. Australia
"The bunyip here was considered to have a magical power over humans, causing them considerable misfortune. Places where there were many eels tended to be where bunyips lived, as this was their food. On one occasion, Aboriginal people claimed that a bunyip lured a woman to her death by distracting her with a large catch of eels. It was considered extremely bad luck to kill or injure a bunyip."
- 2 An imposter or con-man. Australia, obsolete, slang
- 3 Ellipsis of bunyip bird. abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis
- 1 A town in the Shire of Cardinia, central eastern Victoria, Australia
Example
More examples"The bunyip here was considered to have a magical power over humans, causing them considerable misfortune. Places where there were many eels tended to be where bunyips lived, as this was their food. On one occasion, Aboriginal people claimed that a bunyip lured a woman to her death by distracting her with a large catch of eels. It was considered extremely bad luck to kill or injure a bunyip."
Etymology
Borrowed from Wathaurong ban-yib.
Related phrases
More for "bunyip"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.