Word.ws English Dictionary

Boer

UK/bɔː//boɹ/

Boer noun: a Dutch colonist in South Africa during the colonial era, especially a farmer.

Noun

Boer (plural Boers)

  1. (historical) A Dutch colonist in South Africa during the colonial era, especially a farmer.
  2. A militant in the Boer War.
    • The British soldiers captured a Boer after the battle.
  3. (derogatory, offensive) An Afrikaner, especially a farmer.
    • ‘I won't say good day to a fucking boer!’ he exploded, swinging round viciously to escape into the angry light outside.1979, André Brink, A Dry White Season, Vintage, published 1998, page 93
    • At least one of the scenes on the screen appeared to be the rallying cry of “Kill the Boer,” which U.S. officials and Afrikaner activists have cited as evidence that white South Africans are being persecuted. Boer means farmer in Dutch and Afrikaans.2025 May 21, Erica L. Green, Zolan Kanno-Youngs, “Trump Lectures South African President in Televised Oval Office Confrontation”, in The New York Times, →ISSN

Proper noun

Boer (plural Boers)

  1. A surname from Dutch.

Boer meaning in Marathi

Boer in Marathi

South African of Dutch descent
बोअर boar

Forms of Boer

Noun
pluralBoers
Proper noun
pluralBoers

Origin of Boer

From Afrikaans Boer (“Boer”), from boer (“farmer”). Doublet of bauer, boor, and bower.

From Dutch Boer, from boer (“farmer”).

Phrases with Boer

Words that rhyme with Boer

48 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about Boer

What does Boer mean?
Boer means a Dutch colonist in South Africa during the colonial era, especially a farmer.
What is Boer in Marathi?
Boer in Marathi is बोअर (boar). See Boer meaning in Marathi.
What part of speech is Boer?
Boer can be a noun or a proper noun.
How do you pronounce Boer?
Boer is pronounced /bɔː/ (UK).
What is the plural of Boer?
The plural of Boer is Boers.

Words near Boer in the dictionary

  1. Boeotian
  2. Boeotians
  3. Boeotic
  4. boep
  5. boeps
  6. Boer
  7. Boer goat
  8. boeravinone
  9. boeravinones
  10. boerboel
  11. boerboels

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: Boer (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-JutishMale-Boer.wav.

Cite this entry: “Boer.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/boer. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.