boob
1 Americannoun
-
a stupid person; fool; dunce.
-
British. a blunder; mistake.
verb (used without object)
noun
noun
-
an ignorant or foolish person; booby
-
an embarrassing mistake; blunder
-
a female breast
verb
noun
adjective
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
boobsimple
-
boobssimple
-
have boobedperfect
-
has boobedperfect
-
am boobingprogressive
-
are boobingprogressive
-
is boobingprogressive
-
have been boobingperfect progressive
-
has been boobingperfect progressive
Past
-
boobedsimple
-
had boobedperfect
-
was boobingprogressive
-
were boobingprogressive
-
had been boobingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of boob1
1905–10, back formation from booby 1
Origin of boob2
First recorded in 1945–50; apparently back formation from booby 2
Explanation
Boob is a word for a woman's breast — it's also a word for an idiot. So if you're staring at a lady's boobs, you probably look like a boob. This is a very common slang word that's not really inappropriate. Nobody is going to get too mad about you using the word boob, though breast is definitely more anatomically correct. The other meaning of boob is similar to dope, dumbbell, dummy, pinhead, and numbskull. This meaning is also pretty harmless. Calling someone a boob is only a little insulting — not quite fighting words.
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:
"I've embraced my boob journey, it's something that's now part of my sporting journey."
From BBC ● Jan. 8, 2026
I was mortified,” said Katie Sturino, 43, a popular content creator and influencer who founded Megababe, a cosmetics company that sells products that help with chafing thighs, boob sweat and body odor.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 20, 2023
“We worked so much at night, and she would sit around and watch the boob tube,” Warner admitted.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 6, 2022
“I can’t cry in the boob room,” Meriwether said later.
From New York Times ● Mar. 2, 2022
“Good question. I’m the idiot box. I’m the TV. I’m the all-seeing eye and the world of the cathode ray. I’m the boob tube. I’m the little shrine the family gathers to adore.”
From "American Gods" by Neil Gaiman
"I look like the people that walk down the street. I don't have perfect boobs, I don't have zero cellulite — of course I don't — and I'm curvy," she said.
From Salon ● Jun. 2, 2021
The “Scheananigans” podcast host continued: "After going through the miscarriage and knowing those signs...it was comforting knowing, 'Okay, you're not spotting, you're not cramping, you still feel pregnant, you're still tired, your boobs still hurt.'"
From Fox News ● Oct. 28, 2020
“We make bras for two boobs, no boobs and new boobs,” said Donofree, who founded her company after seeing only medicinal looking or uncomfortable bras catering to women with breast cancer.
From Washington Times ● Feb. 19, 2020
“I have scars all over my tummy and the top of my boobs from cooking,” she said — incidents involving fried fish, boiled-over soups and melted cheese, which “really sticks and keeps burning.”
From New York Times ● Feb. 4, 2020
I got my period after most of my friends, and wore a training bra before I had boobs to support.
From "Americanized" by Sara Saedi
Sandpaper bought, dinner eaten and baby boobed, I rush back to the theater, sign in, and go about redoing my hair and makeup.
From New York Times ● Oct. 5, 2011
There is a brief moment of panic when he jokes that Canada, his home nation, is "better" than America – a glance to his bodyguard, present throughout, to make sure he hasn't boobed.
From The Guardian ● Apr. 3, 2010
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.
