bossy
/ˈbɔsi/adjective, noun
bossy is spelled B-O-S-S-Y: 5 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 30,017th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, bossy means “Tending to give orders to others, especially when unwarranted; domineering” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in bossy?
| Letters | 5: B-O-S-S-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 1 million words; the 30,017th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is bossy?
Bossy appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 30,017th 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 bossy?
- US /ˈbɔsi/
- /ˈbɑsi/
- UK /ˈbɒsi/
Bossy has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-bossy.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with bossy?
2 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as bossy from its last stressed vowel (/ɔsi/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of bossy
- bossier comparative
- bossiest superlative
- bossies plural
- more bossy comparative
- most bossy superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does bossy mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Tending to give orders to others, especially when unwarranted; domineering.
- 2
Ornamented with bosses; studded.
noun
- 1
USdatedinformalA cow or calf.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Bossy in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense tending to give orders to others:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | autoritaire |
| German | herrisch, rechthaberisch, autoritär, diktatorisch, herrschsüchtig |
| Portuguese | mandão |
| Spanish | mandón |
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 bossy come from?
From boss + -y.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).