bogan
noun
a backwater, usually narrow and tranquil.
bogan
1 American
[boh-guhn]
/ ˈboʊ gən /
noun
Northern Maine and Canadian (chiefly Maritimes and Northern New Brunswick).
-
a backwater, usually narrow and tranquil.
-
any narrow stretch of water.
Bogan
2
American
[boh-gan, boh-guhn]
/ boʊˈgæn, ˈboʊ gən /
noun
bogan
1
British
/ ˈbəʊɡən /
noun
-
a fool
-
a hooligan
bogan
2
British
/ ˈbəʊɡən /
noun
Etymology
Origin of bogan
First recorded in 1895–1900; apparently shortening of pokelogan, perhaps conflated with bog 1
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:
Characters in his bogan version say "g'day", friends are "mates" and those with questionable ethics are deemed "shonky".
From BBC ● Nov. 14, 2025
He says in more recent times, the term has also been used affectionately of someone considered a bogan or even in reference to oneself such as the term "inner bogan".
From BBC ● Nov. 14, 2025
Dr. Laugesen noted that “fauxgan,” or fake bogan, was becoming the bigger insult, while finding your “inner bogan” was an honorable goal, suggesting Australians were eager to reclaim their more unsophisticated past.
From New York Times ● Jun. 19, 2022
Lambie quickly appropriated the insult: “I will use the business contacts, advice and wisdom I’ve gained … to help restore hope and rebuild our beautiful state – not bad for a bogan.’
From US News ● Jul. 22, 2014
They were harmless, yet the kingfisher rushed upon them, clattering and scolding like a fishwife, and harried them all away into a quiet bogan.
From A Little Brother to the Bear and other Animal Stories by William J. (William Joseph) Long
Economist Vicki Bogan, who wasn’t involved with creating the formula, views it as a useful bridge between academic theory and everyday investors’ needs.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 19, 2026
“It might not be perfect, but it gives a solid, kind of directionally correct way to think about your portfolio choice,” said Bogan, a professor at Duke University’s Sanford School of Public Policy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 19, 2026
Bogan, a term which first emerged in Australia in the 1980s, initially meant an "unsophisticated and uncultured person" with negative connotations, but not for Louis.
From BBC ● Nov. 14, 2025
"My initial response was being really sad that we'd lose this brand new, vibrant ecosystem," Bogan said.
From Salon ● Sep. 3, 2024
At the camp we recognised among the natives seated at our fire two of our friends from the Bogan.
From Three Expeditions into the Interior of Eastern Australia, Volume 2 by Thomas Mitchell
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.
