boondoggle
Americannoun
-
a wasteful and worthless project undertaken for political, corporate, or personal gain, typically a government project funded by taxpayers.
Is high-speed rail a valuable addition to infrastructure, or a boondoggle?
-
work of little or no value done merely to keep or look busy.
-
a product of simple manual skill, as a plaited leather cord for the neck or a knife sheath, made typically by a camper or a scout.
verb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
verb
noun
Usage
What does boondoggle mean? A boondoggle is a government project considered to have little purpose or value and to be a waste of taxpayer money.More generally, it can refer to any work done simply to look busy. These senses of the word are based on its original, literal meaning: a decorative but otherwise useless cord of braided leather or plastic (or another such handicraft) stereotypically made by Scouts.Boondoggle can also be used as a verb meaning to deceive. All senses of the word are primarily used in the U.S. and Canada.Example: Critics called the mayor’s proposal for a tech hub nothing more than a boondoggle to please his political donors.
Other Word Forms
- boondoggler noun
Etymology
Origin of boondoggle
An Americanism dating back to 1930–35; of unknown origin
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.
Was it an exciting new form of entertainment, or a boondoggle?
From BBC • Mar. 30, 2026
He vehemently denied that the United States was entering into another long-term boondoggle in the Middle East.
From Salon • Mar. 2, 2026
As often happens too, we can pinpoint the exact moment and exact dynamics when a policy boondoggle was born.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 14, 2025
They’ve called the tunnel a boondoggle that would harm the Delta and its deteriorating ecosystem, and have argued the project would saddle ratepayers with high costs.
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 21, 2024
Framed by million-dollar views and the multimillion dollar real estate of the Silversword Golf Course, the center seems like the ultimate scientific boondoggle.
From Free as in Freedom: Richard Stallman's Crusade for Free Software by Williams, Sam
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.
