bamboozle
/bæmˈbu.zl̩/verb
bamboozle is spelled B-A-M-B-O-O-Z-L-E: 9 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 7 million words in written English, the 78,613th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, bamboozle means “To con, defraud, trick, to make a fool of, to humbug or impose on someone” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in bamboozle?
| Letters | 9: B-A-M-B-O-O-Z-L-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 7 million words; the 78,613th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is bamboozle?
Bamboozle appears about once in every 7 million words in written English, the 78,613th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce bamboozle?
- UK /bæmˈbuː.zl̩/
- US /bæmˈbu.zl̩/
Bamboozle has 3 syllables (counted from the pronunciation).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-bamboozle.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of bamboozle
- bamboozles present, singular, he/she/it
- bamboozling participle, present
- bamboozled participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does bamboozle mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
informalTo con, defraud, trick, to make a fool of, to humbug or impose on someone.
- 2
informalTo confuse, frustrate or perplex.
He's completely bamboozled by the changes in the computer system.
noun
- 1
informalobsoleteA cheat, hoax, or imposition.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Bamboozle in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense to con, defraud, trick:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | embrouiller, moquer, enfumer |
| German | beschwindeln, tricksen |
| Portuguese | lograr, ludibriar |
| Spanish | engañar, timar, embabucar, mecer, embaucar |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does bamboozle come from?
Derivative of 17th-century vernacular bam (“to trick, to con”), which is a derivative of bam in noun use (fraudster, cheat). Possibly from French embobiner.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).