bogey
bo·gey/boʊɡi/noun, verb
bogey is spelled B-O-G-E-Y: 5 letters and 2 syllables (bo·gey). It appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 31,974th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data, counting Bogey, the name). People search “bogey vs bogie” about 20 times a month (Google, United States). As a noun, bogey means “A ghost, goblin, or other hostile supernatural creature” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of bogey is bogeys.
How many letters and syllables are in bogey?
| Letters | 5: B-O-G-E-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: bo·gey |
| In writing | about once in every 1 million words; the 31,974th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Pairs people search | |
| Sounds like |
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); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026).
How common is bogey?
Bogey appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 31,974th most frequent word form in the list. The list counts every capitalisation together, so this includes Bogey, the name.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce bogey?
- UK /bəʊɡi/
- US /boʊɡi/
Bogey has 2 syllables, split bo·gey in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-I_learned_some_phrases-bogie.wav, En-au-bogey.oga, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with bogey
Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).
Sounds like: bogie, bogy (Wiktionary's homophone list; some hold only in some accents).
Also written: bogie.
Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
Forms of bogey
- bogeys plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- bogie
- bogy
- bogeying participle, present
- bogeyed participle, past
- bogied participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does bogey mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A ghost, goblin, or other hostile supernatural creature.
- 2
archaicThe Devil.
- 3
A bugbear: any terrifying thing.
- 4
UKslangA police officer.
- 5
A standard of performance set up as a mark to be aimed at in competition.
- 6
An unidentified aircraft, especially as observed as a spot on a radar screen and suspected to be hostile.
- 7
proscribedslangSynonym of bandit: an enemy aircraft.
- 8
The notional opponent of a golfer playing alone.
- 9
UKA bog-standard (representative) specimen taken from the center of production.
- 10
AustraliaA swim or bathe; a bath.
My mother would use leaves from trees to make soap for washing our bodies with, and unfortunately for us kids there was no excuse not to take a bogey.
- 11
Alternative spelling of bogie (“one of two sets of wheels under a locomotive or railcar; also, a structure with axles and wheels under a locomotive, railcar, or semi which provides support and reduces vibration for the vehicle”).
- 12
Alternative spelling of bogie (“hand-operated truck or trolley”).
- 13
IndiaUKdatedAlternative spelling of bogie (“railway carriage”).
verb
- 1
To make a bogey on (a particular hole).
- 2
AustraliaTo swim; to bathe.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Bogey in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | Gottseibeiuns |
| Spanish | aeronave no identificada , aeronave enemiga |
| French | bogey, boguey |
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 bogey come from?
Probably related to or alteration of bogle, akin to or from a variant of Middle English bugge (“frightening specter, scarecrow”) (whence bug), itself of uncertain origin: perhaps from obsolete Welsh bwg (“ghost, hobgoblin”); compare Welsh bwgwl (“threat”, older “fear”), Irish bagairt (“threat”), but perhaps the root was borrowed from Germanic. Otherwise from Proto-Germanic *bugja- (“swollen up, thick”); compare Norwegian bugge (“big man”), dialectal Low German Bögge and Alemannic German Böögg (“goblin”, “snot”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).