abracadabra

American  

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

noun

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

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.

Example Sentences

If retirement funds get to omit the costs of BDCs from their own reported expenses, surely private-equity, venture-capital, hedge funds and other “alternative” vehicles will demand the same abracadabra treatment.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 10, 2025

The series’ celebrated technobabble is just a kind of reformulated abracadabra; human characters get the hang of alien gear faster than you could look up how to reset your car’s clock in the owner’s manual.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 28, 2021

Two months ago, the state’s highest court nonetheless yelled abracadabra and changed the deadline to Nov. 6, while making postmarks optional.

From Washington Times • Nov. 11, 2020

During one upcoming scene, as the pair displays wand skills with Daniel Radcliffe, Robinson plays to every lens, dashing across the stage and tumbling over the furniture to make the most of every abracadabra.

From Salon • Feb. 8, 2019

A huge part of me wants to text back abracadabra because that would make such a great line in a movie, wouldn’t it?

From "Ask the Passengers" by A.S. King