bogeyman
/ˈbəʊ.ɡɪˌmæn/US/ˈboʊ.ɡiˌmæn/
bogeyman noun: a menacing, ghost-like monster in children's stories.
Noun
bogeyman (plural bogeymen)
- A menacing, ghost-like monster in children's stories.
- Near-synonyms: bogeyperson, bogeywoman
- Lay your head down child
I won't let the boogeyman come
Counting bodies like sheep
To the rhythm of the war drums
Pay no mind to the rabble
Pay no mind to the rabble
Head down, go to sleep
To the rhythm of the war drums2003, “Pet”, performed by A Perfect Circle
- Synonyms:
- bogey, bug-a-boo, bugaboo, bugbear, bogeyperson, bogeywoman
- Any make-believe threat, especially one used to intimidate or distract, or a real threat greatly exaggerated for those purposes; often taking the form of a notorious historical personage suggested to return as a revenant to punish for wrongdoing.
- Near-synonyms: bug-a-boo, bugaboo, chimera
- The bogeyman of a Halloween-candy poisoner behind every door has animated occasional moral panics against trick-or-treating.
bogeyman meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Tagalog and Arabic
bogeyman in Hindi
- bogeyman, bug-a-boo, bugbear, hobgoblin, ogre
- हौआ hauā
bogeyman in Tamil
- menacing, ghost-like monster in children's stories
- பூச்சாண்டி pūccāṇṭi
bogeyman in Tagalog
- menacing, ghost-like monster in children's stories
- mumò, mumu
bogeyman in Arabic
- menacing, ghost-like monster in children's stories
- بُعْبُع buʕbuʕ
More languagesFewer languages
- bogeyman in Persian
- لولو lūlū
- bogeyman in Vietnamese
- ngoáo ộp, ông ba bị
Examples of bogeyman in a sentence
- The specter of an election-vote recount is this year's political bogeyman.
- All have taken their turn as the popular bogeyman, blighting the minds of the young.2013, Frances Booth, The Distraction Trap:
Synonyms of bogeyman
Forms of bogeyman
| plural | bogeymen |
|---|---|
| alternative form | bogieman |
| alternative form | bogyman |
| alternative form | boogieman |
| alternative form | boogeyman |
| alternative form | boogyman |
| alternative form | buggerman |
Origin of bogeyman
From bogey + -man.
Questions about bogeyman
- What does bogeyman mean?
- Bogeyman means a menacing, ghost-like monster in children's stories.
- What is bogeyman in Hindi?
- Bogeyman in Hindi is हौआ (hauā). See Bogeyman meaning in Hindi.
- How do you use bogeyman in a sentence?
- The specter of an election-vote recount is this year's political bogeyman.
- What part of speech is bogeyman?
- Bogeyman is a noun.
- How do you pronounce bogeyman?
- Bogeyman is pronounced /ˈbəʊ.ɡɪˌmæn/ (UK).
- What is the plural of bogeyman?
- The plural of bogeyman is bogeymen.
Words near bogeyman in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: bogeyman (page history and authors); हौआ (Hindi) (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.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-bogeyman.wav.
Cite this entry: “bogeyman.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/bogeyman. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.