brag

American  

[brag] / bræg /

verb (used without object)

• brags,
  present (3rd person singular)
• bragged,
  past participle,  past
• bragging
  present participle

1. to use boastful language; boast.

   He bragged endlessly about his high score.

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verb (used with object)

• brags,
  present (3rd person singular)
• bragged,
  past participle,  past
• bragging
  present participle

1. to boast of.

   He bragged that he had won.

   Antonyms:

   depreciate

noun

1. a boast or vaunt.

2. a thing to boast of.

3. a boaster.

4. an old English card game similar to poker.

adjective

1. Archaic. unusually fine; first-rate.

brag British  

/ bræɡ /

verb

1. to speak of (one's own achievements, possessions, etc) arrogantly and boastfully

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noun

1. boastful talk or behaviour, or an instance of this

2. something boasted of

   his brag was his new car

3. a braggart; boaster

4. a card game: an old form of poker

Synonym Usage

See boast ¹.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• bragger
  noun
• bragging
  noun
• overbrag
  verb
• outbrag
  verb (used with object)
• bragless
  adjective
• unbragging
  adjective
• braggingly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Participles

• bragging
  present
• bragged
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• brag
  simple
• brags
  simple
• have bragged
  perfect
• has bragged
  perfect
• am bragging
  progressive
• are bragging
  progressive
• is bragging
  progressive
• have been bragging
  perfect progressive
• has been bragging
  perfect progressive

Past

• bragged
  simple
• had bragged
  perfect
• was bragging
  progressive
• were bragging
  progressive
• had been bragging
  perfect progressive

Future

• will brag
  simple
• will have bragged
  perfect
• will be bragging
  progressive
• will have been bragging
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of brag

1350–1400; Middle English brag (noun) ostentation, arrogance, braggen (v.); of obscure origin

Explanation

When you're bragging, you're boasting. If you can't stop talking about your fancy new shoes, that's bragging. Ever notice how some people are full of themselves and constantly telling you about the great things they've done? Those folks like to brag. Bragging is a verbal kind of showing off. We all do it sometimes, and it's almost always annoying when other people do it. A specific boast can be called a brag. Athletes often brag before big games. But only the winners can brag after, because they backed up their words.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

brag brags bragged bragging

When he comes upon Irontown, led by the highborn Lady Eboshi, and listens to its people brag about burning down the boar god’s forest, one might expect him to be angry.

From Salon ● Jul. 22, 2026

Nick Florko doesn’t want to brag or anything, but more than a year ago he wrote an article that has come to seem prescient.

From Slate ● Jul. 17, 2026

Not to brag, but I’m very good at laundry.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 15, 2026

Apologies for the brief brag, but I gave up quite a few racetrack days at Watkins Glen to make that happen — so it feels like a hard-earned win.

From MarketWatch ● May 11, 2026

“That’s what’s important. I’ve always admired quiet people who have achieved a lot much more than I have loud, obnoxious people who brag about their achievements.”

From "The Great Santini" by Pat Conroy

He keeps going to the doctor, has bruises on both hands, and brags about passing dementia tests.

From Slate ● Jun. 23, 2026

He now brags that his daughter has a “high-powered direct report” assisting her at work.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 5, 2026

Nobody brags about water stocks at cocktail parties — that’s how you know they might actually work.

From MarketWatch ● Dec. 9, 2025

Even a former Kentucky district attorney, who brags that he “got a lot of attaboys” for partnering with NBC, softens his tough talk while watching outtakes of a soft-spoken and seemingly very confused arrestee.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 26, 2025

Lourdes brags to her friends, “This is my son. Look at him! He’s so big. It’s a miracle he’s here.”

From "Enrique's Journey" by Sonia Nazario

This created an ideal environment for touts—one of whom bragged online about making a “good few quid” selling dodgy glasses, unconcerned about repercussions because buyers would “never see me again.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026

In a lengthy second post, Trump bragged about steps he has taken to beautify Washington, including resurfacing the bottom of the Reflecting Pool with an "American flag blue" coating used in swimming pools.

From Barron's ● Jun. 28, 2026

The tale contradicts comments he made to reporters on May 4, when he bragged that the new lining was “very strong” and “if you had a knife, you can’t even cut it.”

From Salon ● Jun. 24, 2026

She bragged that she had people who would do anything for her.

From Slate ● Apr. 6, 2026

So the center Nasreen Baji had bragged about to her friend was the mysterious building we watched go up.

From "Amal Unbound" by Aisha Saeed

Davis’ lawyers will seek to show he is a fabricator — his bragging is all fiction.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026

If any move does materialise for Romero, it would be a sensational development and be another deal, following the one for Eze last season, which would present a chance for bragging rights for Arsenal fans.

From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026

It was like they saw it as bragging, like ‘Ugh, fine, we get it, you’re educated.’

From Salon ● Jul. 23, 2026

But the 42-year-old dictator isn’t bragging about the mansion maintenance in state media.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026

“Your dad turned himself into a giraffe, an alligator. He turned himself into the wind! And you’re bragging about being a rat? C’mon, dude.”

From "The Manifestor Prophecy" by Angie Thomas

Related Words

• boast
• crow
• gloat