bugger

1
[ buhg-er, boog- ]

noun
  1. Informal. a fellow or lad (used affectionately or abusively): a cute little bugger.

  2. Informal. any object or thing.

  1. Often Vulgar. a sodomite.

  2. Chiefly British Slang.

    • a despicable or contemptible person, especially a man.

    • an annoying or troublesome thing, situation, etc.

verb (used with object)
  1. Often Vulgar. to sodomize.

  2. Slang. damn: Bugger the cost—I want the best.

  1. Chiefly British Slang. to trick, deceive, or take advantage of.

Verb Phrases
  1. bugger off, Chiefly British Slang. to depart; bug off.

  2. bugger up, Chiefly British Slang. to ruin; spoil; botch.

Origin of bugger

1
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English bougre, from Anglo-French bugre, from Medieval Latin Bulgarus “heretic,” literally, “Bulgarian,” by association of the Balkans with heretical sects such as the Bogomils and their alleged deviant sexual practices; def. 1 perhaps by reanalysis as bug1 or bug2 + -er1 (cf. booger)

Words Nearby bugger

Other definitions for bugger (2 of 2)

bugger2
[ buhg-er ]

  1. a person who installs a hidden listening device.

Origin of bugger

2
First recorded in 1965–70; bug1 + -er1

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

British Dictionary definitions for bugger

bugger

/ (ˈbʌɡə) /


noun
  1. a person who practises buggery

  2. slang a person or thing considered to be contemptible, unpleasant, or difficult

  1. slang a humorous or affectionate term for a man or child: a silly old bugger; a friendly little bugger

  2. bugger all slang nothing

  3. play silly buggers slang to fool around and waste time

verb
  1. to practise buggery (with)

  2. (tr) slang, mainly British to ruin, complicate, or frustrate

  1. slang to tire; weary: he was absolutely buggered

interjection
  1. slang an exclamation of annoyance or disappointment

Origin of bugger

1
C16: from Old French bougre, from Medieval Latin Bulgarus Bulgarian; from the condemnation of the dualist heresy rife in Bulgaria from the tenth century to the fifteenth

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