bogan

¹ American  

[boh-guhn] / ˈboʊ gən /

noun

Northern Maine and Canadian (chiefly Maritimes and Northern New Brunswick).

1. a backwater, usually narrow and tranquil.

2. any narrow stretch of water.

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Bogan ² American  

[boh-gan, boh-guhn] / boʊˈgæn, ˈboʊ gən /

noun

1. Louise, 1897–1970, U.S. poet.

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bogan ¹ British  

/ ˈbəʊɡən /

noun

1. a fool

2. a hooligan

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bogan ² British  

/ ˈbəʊɡən /

noun

1. Also called: logan.   pokelogan.  (esp in the Maritime Provinces) a sluggish side stream

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Etymology

Origin of bogan

First recorded in 1895–1900; apparently shortening of pokelogan, perhaps conflated with bog ¹

Example Sentences

"There's a whole lot of different types of bogan," Louis says.

From BBC • Nov. 14, 2025

And speaking "bogan" refers to casual speech with lots of local sayings, he says.

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

They told me it was boring, or bogan, or suburban, or confronting, or sexy or entertaining, but no one said it was funny.

From The Guardian • Nov. 14, 2019

The pool was an old river-channel, now closed above, and making a quiet deep pool such as in England is called a "backwater" and in Canada a "bogan."

From Westways by Mitchell, S. Weir (Silas Weir)