bunyip

[ buhn-yip ]

/ ˈbʌn yɪp /

Australian

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noun

a mythical creature of Aboriginal legend said to inhabit water and watercourses.

an impostor.

adjective

counterfeit; phony.

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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 bunyip

First recorded in 1840–50; from Wergaia (an Australian Aboriginal language of the Wimmera area, Victoria) banib

Words nearby bunyip

bunya, bunya-bunya, Bunyan, Bunyanesque, Bunyan, Paul, bunyip, buona notte, Buonaparte, Buonarroti, buona sera, buon fresco

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

How to use bunyip in a sentence

“It is reckoned the residence of the water-cow,” a monster like the Australian bunyip.
Angling Sketches|Andrew Lang
“Dat big bunyip beat um gin,” whispered Jimmy, with a curious awe-stricken look in his countenance.
Bunyip Land|George Manville Fenn
“Take away bunyip dog; take um way or Jimmy killum,” cried the black.
Bunyip Land|George Manville Fenn
“Dat big bunyip,” said a voice that made us start, for Jimmy had come up from the dark camp unperceived.
Bunyip Land|George Manville Fenn

“Big water bunyip glad get black fellow,” he said, as loudly as he could, and with a scornful look at us.
Bunyip Land|George Manville Fenn

British Dictionary definitions for bunyip

bunyip

/ (ˈbʌnjɪp) /

noun

Australian a legendary monster said to inhabit swamps and lagoons of the Australian interior

Word Origin for bunyip

C19: from a native Australian language

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