abracadabra

American  

[ab-ruh-kuh-dab-ruh] / ˌæb rə kəˈdæb rə /

noun

abracadabras plural

1. a mystical word or expression used in incantations, on amulets, etc., as a magical means of warding off misfortune, harm, or illness.

2. any charm or incantation using nonsensical or supposedly magical words.

3. meaningless talk; gibberish; nonsense.

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abracadabra British  

/ ˌæbrəkəˈdæbrə /

interjection

1. a spoken formula, used esp by conjurors

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noun

1. a word used in incantations, etc, considered to possess magic powers

2. gibberish; nonsense

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• abracadabras
  plural

Etymology

Origin of abracadabra

1690–1700; < Late Latin, probably < Late Greek, perhaps reflecting recitation of the initial letters of the alphabet; cf. abecedary

Explanation

Abracadabra isn't just a magician's wind-up to a trick; it's also a word for a load of gibberish or nonsense. You probably know abracadabra as a word a magician might use before sawing a woman in half or making something disappear. However, it has another meaning similar to other reduplicative such as jibber-jabber and mumbo-jumbo: nonsense. Someone spouting a bunch of weird talk that doesn't make any sense is speaking abracadabra. If you want to dismiss something written or spoken, you could say, "That's a bunch of abracadabra!" Like a baby's babbling, abracadabra is meaningless.