bogeyman

American  

[boog-ee-man, boh-gee-, boo-] / ˈbʊg iˌmæn, ˈboʊ gi-, ˈbu- /

South Midland and Southern U.S., boogeyman or bogyman

noun

bogeymen plural

1. an imaginary evil character of supernatural powers, especially a mythical hobgoblin supposed to carry off naughty children.

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bogeyman British  

/ ˈbəʊɡɪˌmæn /

noun

1. a person, real or imaginary, used as a threat, esp to children

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• bogeymen
  plural

Etymology

Origin of bogeyman

First recorded in 1885–90; bogey ¹ (variant of bogy ¹, in the sense “a hobgoblin, evil spirit”) + man

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

bogeyman bogeymen

Both cast debt as a bogeyman turning capitalism into an extraction device that, left unchecked or unwisely channeled, can take everything from any of us.

From Salon ● May 4, 2026

He embraced the role of migra bogeyman like a tween boy scarfing down a bowl of Warheads, always promising more deportations, more chaos, more more.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 27, 2026

This particular European bogeyman dates back to 2014, when the U.S. and the European Union were negotiating a trans-Atlantic trade agreement.

From Slate ● Feb. 13, 2026

“Uber is no longer the bogeyman it was,” said McNamara.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2025

Two carefully watches the bushes along the sidewalk for a lurking bogeyman or worse.

From "Speak" by Laurie Halse Anderson

But that angst can be projected onto bogeymen.

From Salon ● May 8, 2023

When I hear my students discuss these new tech bogeymen, I’m reminded of the mistakes we’ve made in critiquing the news media.

From Slate ● May 4, 2023

Both are worldly, well into middle age, and both sense the need to explore their own catacombs and confront the bogeymen within.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 27, 2022

Historically, Australia are NZ’s bogeymen, with 14 wins to four in white-ball tournaments involving five or more teams.

From The Guardian ● Nov. 14, 2021

“I rode hyenas after dark! I made chidoma, bogeymen, out of dead bodies! I caused Chipo to have twins! Augh! Augh!”

From "The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm" by Nancy Farmer