boogeyman
Americannoun
-
boogeymen
plural
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of boogeyman
First recorded in 1840–50
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:
The market is seeing a boogeyman that frankly doesn’t exist.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 16, 2026
Artificial intelligence could be the boogeyman that gnaws at market share.
From Barron's ● Feb. 4, 2026
Craig said the characters’ frequent misinterpretations took on the role of the “monster,” since this is a horror movie without a true boogeyman.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 6, 2025
"I wasn't satisfied with just imagining this evil boogeyman who had done a horrible thing to me," she explained.
From Salon ● Apr. 14, 2025
“There were?” says Garrett, wide-eyed, like someone just proved to him that the boogeyman was real.
From "Dry" by Neal Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman
I mean that AI now sits squarely atop the pile of modern parents’ anxieties, having rapidly eclipsed boogeymen like screen time and social media.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 29, 2026
He’s the only character who seems to like dinosaurs — everyone else sees them as dollar signs or boogeymen.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 30, 2025
What we do not enjoy, however, is the pesky presence of well-known boogeymen like raw egg and flour, which are obviously not two items that should be eaten with such vigor.
From Salon ● Aug. 12, 2023
They’re also conjuring boogeymen, even though the real culprits are tech giants.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 2, 2022
He needs as many boogeymen and vanquished foes as he can conjure.
From Slate ● Feb. 11, 2020
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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.
