bouse

1

or bowse

[ bous, bouz ]

verb (used with object),boused, bous·ing.Nautical.
  1. to haul with tackle.

Origin of bouse

1
First recorded in 1585–95; of uncertain origin

Words Nearby bouse

Other definitions for bouse (2 of 2)

bouse2

or bowse

[ booz, bouz ]

noun
  1. liquor or drink.

  2. a drinking bout; carouse.

verb (used with or without object),boused, bous·ing.
  1. to drink, especially to excess.

Origin of bouse

2
1250–1300; Middle English bous strong drink <Middle Dutch būsen drink to excess; cf. booze

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use bouse in a sentence

  • The wandering beggar says "skimish" for drink, but city beggars say "bouse."

    Beggars | W. H. (William Henry) Davies
  • Booze, or bouse, is supposed to come from the Dutch buysen, though the word has been in use in England for some hundreds of years.

    The Slang Dictionary | John Camden Hotten

British Dictionary definitions for bouse

bouse

bowse

/ (baʊz) /


verb
  1. (tr) nautical to raise or haul with a tackle

Origin of bouse

1
C16: of unknown origin

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012