Word.ws English Dictionary

ooga booga

/ˌuːɡəˈbuːɡə/

ooga booga interjection: a frightened or sarcastic imitation of foreign language.

Interjection

(slang)

  1. (slang) A frightened or sarcastic imitation of foreign language.
  2. (humorous, slang) Mimicking caveman speech.
    Synonyms:
    unga bunga
  3. (humorous, slang) Mimicking ape-like behavior.
  4. (derogatory, slang) Used to suggest that the interlocutor is stupid.
  5. (ethnic, offensive, slang, slur) Mimicking African languages.
  6. (ethnic, offensive, slang, slur) Mimicking Aboriginal Australian languages.

Synonyms of ooga booga

Origin of ooga booga

# Of onomatopoeic origin, this word originated in the 1930s, along with its variants ("unga bunga"), and established itself by the 1950s as a "sarcastic or fearful imitation of foreign languages", with the present being the place wherein it split into its many senses.

Questions about ooga booga

What does ooga booga mean?
Ooga booga means a frightened or sarcastic imitation of foreign language.
What part of speech is ooga booga?
Ooga booga is an interjection.
How do you pronounce ooga booga?
Ooga booga is pronounced /ˌuːɡəˈbuːɡə/.

Words near ooga booga in the dictionary

  1. ooft
  2. oofta
  3. ooftish
  4. oofy
  5. Oog
  6. ooga booga
  7. oogabooga
  8. oogamete
  9. oogametes
  10. oogamous
  11. oogamously

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: ooga booga (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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Cite this entry: “ooga booga.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/ooga_booga. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.