This shows grade level based on the word's complexity.
bougie
1or bou·jee
[ boo-zhee, ‐jee ]
/ ˈbu ʒi, ‐dʒi /
Save This Word!
This shows grade level based on the word's complexity.
adjective Slang.
Sometimes Disparaging. relating to or characteristic of a person who indulges in some of the luxuries and comforts of a fancy lifestyle: He spends too much on bougie stuff he can’t afford.
Also bour·gie [bur-zhee, ‐jee, boo‐] /ˈbɜr ʒi, ‐dʒi, ˈbu‐/ .Often Disparaging and Offensive. relating to or characteristic of a person who aspires to the upper middle class, especially when regarded as being elitist or snobbish: The bougie folks all left the old neighborhood and bought houses out there where their kids'll go to “good schools,” whatever that means.
relating to or characteristic of a person who flaunts newly acquired wealth without necessarily embracing the cultural values and pretensions of the upper middle class: that bougie feeling when you’re drinking high-end champagne—out of a red plastic cup.
QUIZ
THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?
Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.
Question 1 of 7
In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…
Also bou·jie, boo·jie [boo-jee]. /ˈbu dʒi/.
Origin of bougie
1An Americanism dating back to 1965–70; shortening and alteration of bourgeois1
usage note for bougie
Bougie is often used with disparaging intent and perceived as insulting, depending on the cultural or social context of its use. It originated as slang in the African American community, used disparagingly to describe wealthier or upwardly mobile people, usually other Black people, who were seen to be socially pretentious. It is now also used as a term of mild censure, referring in general to people who have expensive tastes.
Words nearby bougie
bough, boughed, boughpot, bought, boughten, bougie, Bouguer anomaly, Bouguer correction, Bouguereau, bouillabaisse, bouillon
Other definitions for bougie (2 of 2)
bougie2
[ boo-jee, -zhee, boo-zhee ]
/ ˈbu dʒi, -ʒi, buˈʒi /
noun
Medicine/Medical.
- a slender, flexible instrument introduced into passages of the body, especially the urethra, for dilating, examining, medicating, etc.
- a suppository.
a wax candle.
Origin of bougie
2First recorded in 1745–55; from French, after Bougie (from Arabic Bujāyah ), town in Algeria, center of the wax trade
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use bougie in a sentence
British Dictionary definitions for bougie
bougie
/ (ˈbuːʒiː, buːˈʒiː) /
noun
med a long slender semiflexible cylindrical instrument for inserting into body passages, such as the rectum or urethra, to dilate structures, introduce medication, etc
Word Origin for bougie
C18: from French, originally a wax candle from Bougie (Bujiya), Algeria
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