bogeyman
Americannoun
-
bogeymen
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of bogeyman
First recorded in 1885–90; bogey 1 (variant of bogy 1, in the sense “a hobgoblin, evil spirit”) + man
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Both cast debt as a bogeyman turning capitalism into an extraction device that, left unchecked or unwisely channeled, can take everything from any of us.
From Salon ● May 4, 2026
When FDA rejections draw criticism, he uses “industry” as a bogeyman.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 3, 2026
This particular European bogeyman dates back to 2014, when the U.S. and the European Union were negotiating a trans-Atlantic trade agreement.
From Slate ● Feb. 13, 2026
Los Angeles has always been a magnet for those seeking fame, even if that means serving as a bogeyman for opportunistic pundits.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 19, 2024
Two carefully watches the bushes along the sidewalk for a lurking bogeyman or worse.
From "Speak" by Laurie Halse Anderson
But that angst can be projected onto bogeymen.
From Salon ● May 8, 2023
When I hear my students discuss these new tech bogeymen, I’m reminded of the mistakes we’ve made in critiquing the news media.
From Slate ● May 4, 2023
And none of this implicates the usual bogeymen of the housing crisis, the big housebuilding companies.
From The Guardian ● Apr. 19, 2019
But is this a case of seeing Russian bogeymen where there are none?
From BBC ● Oct. 19, 2018
Maureen, who was four and had a terrible fear of bogeymen, kept dreaming that intruders in Halloween masks were coming through the open doors to get us.
From "The Glass Castle" by Jeannette Walls
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
