Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Synonyms

bosh

1 American  
[bosh] / bɒʃ /

noun

  1. absurd or foolish talk; nonsense.

bosh 2 American  
[bosh] / bɒʃ /

noun

Metallurgy.

  1. the section of a blast furnace between the hearth and the stack, having the form of a frustum of an inverted cone.

bosh 1 British  
/ bɒʃ /

noun

  1. the lower tapering portion of a blast furnace, situated immediately above the air-inlet tuyères

  2. the deposit of siliceous material that occurs on the surfaces of vessels in which copper is refined

  3. a water tank for cooling glass-making tools, etc

  4. dialect a kitchen sink or wash basin

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
bosh 2 British  
/ bɒʃ /

noun

  1. informal empty or meaningless talk or opinions; nonsense

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of bosh1

1830–35; < Turkish boş empty; popularized from its use in the novel Ayesha (1834) by British author James J. Morier (1780–1849)

Origin of bosh2

1670–80; probably < German; akin to German böschen to slope, Böschung slope, scarp

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.

"I'm still smiling and I still love Australia," he wrote before signing off with his famed slogan "bosh" - a British slang word often used as an enthusiastic exclamation.

From BBC • Oct. 14, 2025

The government has decided not to bosh on with this immediately, and instead return to it after the Easter recess.

From BBC • Mar. 21, 2024

Think of all the Lean in 15 recipes you could bosh while that’s on in the background.

From The Guardian • Nov. 19, 2018

"I think it's a bunch of bosh," said Wallace Broecker, a professor at Columbia University.

From Washington Post • Sep. 28, 2009

He was also sore about the shoulders and had a burning ear, from making bosh shots at the quintain— for, of course, practice tilting was done without armour.

From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White

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.