bossy

[baw-see, bos-ee]

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adjective, boss·i·er, boss·i·est.

given to ordering people about; overly authoritative; domineering.

Origin of bossy

An Americanism dating back to 1880–85; boss¹ + -y¹

Related formsboss·i·ly, adverbboss·i·ness, noun

Synonyms for bossy

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highhanded, officious, dictational; overbearing, abrasive.

bossy

[baw-see, bos-ee]

adjective, boss·i·er, boss·i·est.

studded with bosses.

Origin of bossy

First recorded in 1535–45; boss² + -y¹

bossy

[bos-ee, baw-see]

noun, plural bos·sies.

a familiar name for a cow or calf.

Origin of bossy

An Americanism dating back to 1835–45; boss³ + -y²

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for bossy

pushy, imperious, overbearing, authoritarian, commanding, controlling, despotic, dictatorial, high-handed, oppressive, overpowering, strict, tyrannical

Examples from the Web for bossy

Contemporary Examples of bossy

And women have much bigger fish to fry than banning the word “bossy.”
Sheryl Sandberg's Got a Bigger Problem Than Bossy-Gate
Keli Goff
March 17, 2014
I now see how loaded “bossy” is with gender biases and expectations.
My Daughter Is Bossy—But Don’t Call Her That
Sally Kohn
March 12, 2014
Beautiful, brainy, and bossy—on the surface, Gu Kailai was a new breed of Politburo wife.
China’s Jackie Kennedy: Gu Kailai and the Bo Xilai’s Scandal
Melinda Liu
April 12, 2012

Historical Examples of bossy

"No wonder Miss Alice Fern is so bossy with him," she thought.
Molly Brown's Senior Days
Nell Speed
Now that Bossy is gone, I don't know what we are going to do for milk.
At the Little Brown House
Ruth Alberta Brown
I thought it would make you more conceited and bossy than ever.
Etheldreda the Ready
Mrs. George de Horne Vaizey
"You're a bossy sort of slob, Heslet Quillan," she said equably.
Legacy
James H Schmitz
How was she going to get on with such jolty, jerky, bossy people?
The Rainbow
D. H. (David Herbert) Lawrence

British Dictionary definitions for bossy

bossy

adjective bossier or bossiest

informal domineering, overbearing, or authoritarian

Derived Formsbossily, adverbbossiness, noun

bossy

adjective

(of furniture) ornamented with bosses

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

Word Origin and History for bossy

adj.

1540s, "swelling, projecting and rounded, decorated with bosses" from boss (n.2). Meaning "domineering, fond of ordering people about" is recorded 1882, from boss (n.1) + -y (2). As a common cow name it represents Latin bos "cow" (see cow (n.)).