bugbear

[ buhg-bair ]

/ ˈbʌgˌbɛər /

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noun

any source, real or imaginary, of needless fright or fear.

a persistent problem or source of annoyance.

Folklore. a goblin that eats up naughty children.

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His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

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Origin of bugbear

First recorded in 1570–80; bug² + bear²

Words nearby bugbear

bugaloo, Buganda, Bugatti, Bugayev, bugbane, bugbear, bugboy, bugeye, bug-eyed, bugger, bugger about

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use bugbear in a sentence

They swatted aside the Jackets, their bugbear from a season ago, and the Bruins — the team that appeared most equipped to give them trouble in the East — like so many mosquitos, needing just five games to beat each of them.
The Tampa Bay Lightning Finally Delivered On Their Stanley Cup Potential|Terrence Doyle|September 29, 2020|FiveThirtyEight
They asked him if he was president of the Union League - a particular bugbear for the Klan because it sought to organize freedmen.
Enough With This 'Lost Cause' Nonsense|Justin Green|February 19, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Will constitutional-law professors replace community organizers and the French as the right's latest bugbear?
Mitt Romney Mocks Barack Obama for Teaching the Constitution|Ben Jacobs|March 21, 2012|DAILY BEAST
So that fastidious snuff-takers may dismiss this bugbear at once and forever.
Tobacco; Its History, Varieties, Culture, Manufacture and Commerce|E. R. Billings.

The chest was soon filled with quilts and that bugbear was gone from her life.
Patchwork|Anna Balmer Myers
A mere bugbear to frighten children, believe me; and never yet alarmed a brave man.
Rookwood|William Harrison Ainsworth
As for the Tennessee land, so long a will-o'the-wisp and a bugbear, it became tangible property at last.
Mark Twain, A Biography, 1835-1910, Complete|Albert Bigelow Paine
This bogie, phantom, bugbear, is a supposed influence called "Reaction."
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 64, No. 393, July 1848|Various

British Dictionary definitions for bugbear

bugbear

/ (ˈbʌɡˌbɛə) /

noun

a thing that causes obsessive fear or anxiety

(in English folklore) a goblin said to eat naughty children and thought to be in the form of a bear

Word Origin for bugbear

C16: from bug ² + bear ²; compare bugaboo

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

bugbear

Origin of bugbear

Words nearby bugbear

Words related to bugbear

How to use bugbear in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for bugbear

Word Origin for bugbear