boo-boo
English
Etymology
- Possibly from bug-a-boo, an imaginary evil goblin.
- Possibly from bubo, a swollen lymph node especially obvious in sufferers of bubonic plague.
- Possibly from the sound a baby or young toddler might make.
- Possibly borrowed from French bobo (“boo-boo”)
Pronunciation
- (Canada) IPA(key): /ˈbuːˌbuː/
Audio (US) (file)
Noun
boo-boo (countable and uncountable, plural boo-boos)
Verb
boo-boo (third-person singular simple present boo-boos, present participle boo-booing, simple past and past participle boo-booed)
Usage notes
Sometimes used sarcastically regarding overreaction to a very minor injury, as in "Aw, did the little boy get a boo-boo?"
Synonyms
- (error): blooper, blunder, faux pas, fluff, gaffe, lapse, slip, stumble, thinko
- (minor injury): owie, scrape, bruise, nick, scratch
- (void one’s bowels): (slang) crap, (obsolete) drite, (slang) dump, (informal) pinch a loaf, (informal, humorous) drop a bomb, (informal, humorous) drop the kids off at the pool, (vulgar) shit, (vulgar) shite, (vulgar) take a shit, (slang) take a dump, (informal) drop a deuce
Related terms
Translations
This article is issued from Wiktionary. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.