bupkis
Americannoun
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nothing.
They've told us bupkis—we're going to have to find out what's going on for ourselves.
-
very little; the smallest amount.
It was a revolutionary piece of technology, and yet the inventor sold it for bupkis.
Etymology
Origin of bupkis
First recorded in 1935–40; from Yiddish bobkes, plural of bobke “piece of goat excrement, worthless thing,” literally “little bean,” from Slavic, equivalent to Polish bób “broad bean” + -ke, diminutive suffix; see also bean ( def. )
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.
With Mr. Netanyahu, the mayor insists New York will do whatever the law allows . . . which is bupkis.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026
So charging $1 on a $98 barrel is bupkis to oil producers and consumers, while it adds up to real money over time for the Iranians.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 11, 2026
The group had reportedly reached out to 30 prospective candidates, and came up with bupkis.
From Slate ● Apr. 6, 2024
Studio executives "ended up offering us basically bupkis," Fran Drescher, SAG-AFTRA president, told Salon just over a week after the union made up of 160,000 members announced it would strike.
From Salon ● Jul. 22, 2023
On the other hand, they all knew that on Dec. 5 and Dec. 6 and did bupkis, which is Yiddish for ‘nothing,’ about it for months.
From Washington Post ● Feb. 26, 2022
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.
