bogey
1 Americannoun
-
bogeys
plural
verb (used without object)
verb (used with or without object)
-
bogeys
plural
noun
-
an evil or mischievous spirit
-
something that worries or annoys
-
golf
-
a score of one stroke over par on a hole Compare par
-
obsolete a standard score for a hole or course, regarded as one that a good player should make
-
-
slang a piece of dried mucus discharged from the nose
-
slang air force an unidentified or hostile aircraft
-
slang a detective; policeman
verb
verb
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of bogey1
First recorded in 1890–95; spelling variant of bogy 2
Origin of bogey2
First recorded in 1845–50; from Dharuk, equivalent to bū- “bathe” + -gi past tense marker
Origin of bogey3
First recorded in 1985–90; in reference to Bogey or Bogie , nickname of Humphrey Bogart
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:
Fleetwood conceded an over-zealous approach on the ninth - which bounded through the baked green and led to a bogey - was a "terrible mistake".
From BBC ● Jul. 19, 2026
The bogey meant he had missed a golden chance to become the first man to shoot 61 at one of the sport's blue-riband events.
From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2026
He needed to step high to get to the ball but was able to hit it out of the area, eventually making bogey on the par-four hole.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 2026
That gave him enough breathing room to survive a bogey on the 17th, bringing the lead back down to one with one hole left.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 21, 2026
Heroes and bogey men, values and dislikes, are first encountered and labeled in that early environment.
From "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" by Maya Angelou
Her round still contained three bogeys and her last birdie came on 13, preventing a further climb up the leaderboard.
From BBC ● Jul. 31, 2026
After scrambling well on Thursday and putting his foot down on Friday, Fleetwood moved within a shot of the lead on Saturday before two late bogeys left him seemingly with too much work to do.
From BBC ● Jul. 19, 2026
That took him to 11 under, but a title challenge from so far back always looked too big an ask and three more birdies were mixed with two bogeys as he finished five strokes behind.
From BBC ● Jul. 12, 2026
He carded three bogeys on the opening nine without a birdie.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 21, 2026
Harry rather thought some bogeys landed on the potatoes, and was inwardly thankful that they were not staying for dinner.
From "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" by J.K. Rowling
McIlroy double-bogeyed the fourth hole and bogeyed the sixth.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 13, 2026
American world number one Scottie Scheffler bogeyed the 18th in a round of 71 that left him three under.
From BBC ● Mar. 7, 2026
Fowler bogeyed the 14th but produced an otherwise flawless round featuring nine birdies.
From Barron's ● Feb. 13, 2026
A day later she was briefly under par when she birdied the par-3 third hole, but she bogeyed the fourth and triple-bogeyed the par-4 fifth hole.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 14, 2025
The Californian, who started the round one shot off leader Sam Burns, bogeyed five of his first six holes to seemingly drop out of contention.
From BBC ● Jun. 15, 2025
He birdied four of the next five holes before bogeying the last.
From BBC ● Aug. 23, 2026
To win last year, McIlroy needed to beat Justin Rose - who finished tied third on Sunday having led by two at the turn - in a sudden death play-off after bogeying the 72nd hole.
From BBC ● Apr. 12, 2026
After bogeying the first hole, Kim parred the next five before back-to-back-to-back birdies at seven, eight and nine.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 15, 2024
“So I told my caddie that’s the least mad I’m ever going to be bogeying the last three.”
From Washington Times ● Jun. 1, 2023
Zanotti, who has two tour wins, had four birdies and one eagle on the seventh hole before bogeying the 16th to end his day with a 67.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 17, 2023
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions 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.
