booby
1 Americannoun
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a stupid person; dunce.
-
a gannet of the genus Sula, having a bright bill, bright feet, or both: some are endangered.
noun
noun
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an ignorant or foolish person
-
the losing player in a game
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any of several tropical marine birds of the genus Sula : family Sulidae , order Pelecaniformes (pelicans, cormorants, etc). They have a straight stout bill and the plumage is white with darker markings Compare gannet
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of booby1
1590–1600; earlier pooby, apparently blend of poop to befool (now obsolete) and baby; booby 1 ( def. 2 ) perhaps by association with Spanish bobo < Latin balbus stuttering
Origin of booby2
1930–35, probably variant of earlier bubby
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:
It would require combat troops to secure perimeters, engineers with excavating equipment to search through debris and check for mines and booby traps, and special-operations forces with expertise in handling nuclear material.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 27, 2026
The scene from 1981's Raiders of the Lost Ark shows Indiana Jones - played by Harrison Ford - outrunning a giant boulder triggered by a booby trap, before leaping to safety.
From BBC ● Dec. 31, 2025
The state’s shores offer temperate-weather hiking with views of dramatic cliffs, crashing waves, pelagic birds such as the blue-footed booby and several species of sandpiper, and native wildflowers.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2024
When I asked a senior White House official if they could speak to whether or not similar booby traps were contained in American communication devices I was rebuked; “I can’t speak to that.”
From Salon ● Sep. 19, 2024
A man, an ape, a blue-footed booby tries to attract a female to mate with.
From "Charles and Emma: The Darwins' Leap of Faith" by Deborah Heiligman
The best sequence in the whole film is their encounter with two posh suburbanites who simply can’t imagine they’re in danger, bounding right up to them like the Galapagos Islands’ blue-footed boobies.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 28, 2025
Researchers have observed siblings killing each other—siblicide—in many kinds of birds, including Verreaux’s eagles, ospreys, and blue-footed boobies.
From Science Magazine ● Mar. 15, 2024
The Galápagos Islands are famed as a bizarre menagerie of blue-footed boobies, giant tortoises and seafaring iguanas.
From Scientific American ● Nov. 2, 2023
Red-footed boobies and great frigatebirds, for instance, often take to the wing and ascend to high altitudes, allowing storms to pass below, whereas Eastern brown pelicans simply sit them out, remaining grounded until conditions improve.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 25, 2023
All were occupied by blue-footed boobies, big birds with star- dingly blue feet.
From "Frightful's Mountain" by Jean Craighead George
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.
