boo-boo

American  

[boo-boo] / ˈbuˌbu /

noun

Slang.

plural

boo-boos

1. a minor injury; owie.

   My dad was doing dishes and kissing boo-boos way back in the 1960s.

2. a stupid or silly mistake; blunder.

   Even people with loads of sewing experience make boo-boos when creating a piece!

   Synonyms:

   slip-up, slip, screwup, goof, fumble, fluff, flub

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boo-boo British  

noun

1. informal an embarrassing mistake; blunder

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Etymology

Origin of boo-boo

An Americanism dating back to 1950–55; baby talk

Example Sentences

It might be your internet company’s fault, a boo-boo with your home equipment or interference from your neighbor’s Call of Duty game night.

From Washington Post • Mar. 3, 2023

Some attestation forms seem impractical, requiring parents to interview their pre-school-age children about their health, when some that age can’t distinguish between a boo-boo and a sore throat.

From New York Times • Jan. 31, 2022

“Then everybody put a boo-boo on that. They said: ‘What are you doing, ratting on about that?’

From The Guardian • Mar. 23, 2020

But to me, he was Kobe-Kobe, my boo-boo, my bay-boo.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 24, 2020

When he was three and fell on a stick in our driveway, I was the one who took him inside and got a Band-Aid and his boo-boo bunny.

From "Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie" by Jordan Sonnenblick