bougie
1 Americanadjective
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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.
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Often Disparaging and Offensive. Also bourgie 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.
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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.
noun
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bougies
plural
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Medicine/Medical.
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a slender, flexible instrument introduced into passages of the body, especially the urethra, for dilating, examining, medicating, etc.
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a suppository.
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a wax candle.
noun
Sensitive Note
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.
Usage
Spelling tips for bougie The slang term bougie comes from a shortening and alteration of the word bourgeois, which is even harder to remember how to spell. How to spell bougie: Bougie is also sometimes spelled boujee, boujie, and boojie, but bougie is the most common spelling. Boogie is a different word altogether. To remember the vowel sequences in bougie (o-u, i-e), just remember this question: “Oh, you think I’m bougie, i.e. too fancy?”
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of bougie1
An Americanism dating back to 1965–70; shortening and alteration of bourgeois 1 ( def. )
Origin of bougie2
First recorded in 1745–55; from French, after Bougie (from Arabic Bujāyah ), town in Algeria, center of the wax trade
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:
From the shelves of bougie Los Angeles grocer Erewhon to private events at clubs like Casa Cipriani, Loonen water has become the chosen hydration of the chic, affluent and health-conscious.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026
Jeannine Souza, a self-described bougie traveler, used to avoid Spirit because of its no-frills reputation.
From MarketWatch ● May 6, 2026
"And all the whilst he was doing this, he was going on like really crazy bougie holidays and spending crazy amounts of money that probably wasn't his."
From BBC ● Nov. 23, 2025
There are bakeries for dogs and even luxury boutiques for all your bougie little baby’s every need.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2025
My parents got scared, and although they didn’t send me to my aunt and uncle in a rich neighborhood, they sent me to a bougie private school.
From "The Hate U Give" by Angie Thomas
M. M. The perpetual use of bougies, either of catgut or of caoutchouc.
From Zoonomia, Vol. II Or, the Laws of Organic Life by Erasmus Darwin
The olive heads of the bougies are drilled for threading from the tip to one side of the base.
From Manual of Surgery Volume Second: Extremities—Head—Neck. Sixth Edition. by Alexander Miles
M. M. Distend the part gradually by catgut bougies, which by their compression will at the same time diminish the thickness of the membrane, or by bougies of elastic gum, or of horn boiled soft.
From Zoonomia, Vol. II Or, the Laws of Organic Life by Erasmus Darwin
Gum elastic œsophageal bougies with connection to fit syringe.
From The Elements of Bacteriological Technique A Laboratory Guide for Medical, Dental, and Technical Students. Second Edition Rewritten and Enlarged. by J. W. H. (John William Henry) Eyre
Treatment of Pulsion Diverticulum.—If the pouch is small, the subdiverticular esophageal orifice may be dilated with esophagoscopic bougies, thus overcoming the etiologic factor of spastic or organic stenosis.
From Bronchoscopy and Esophagoscopy A Manual of Peroral Endoscopy and Laryngeal Surgery by Chevalier Jackson
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.
