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bugger.

A heretic.

6 characters2 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

noun/ˈbʌɡə/Received-Pronunciation/ˈbʌɡəɹ/General-American
  1. A heretic.

    obsolete
  2. Someone who commits buggery; a sodomite.

    UK
    The British Sexual Offences Act of 1967 is a buggers’ charter.
  3. A foolish or worthless person or thing; a despicable person.

    Commonwealth · Hawaii · derogatory · slang
    He's a silly bugger for losing his keys.
    The bugger’s given me the wrong change.
  4. A situation that is aggravating or causes dismay; a pain.

    Commonwealth · Hawaii · slang
    So you're stuck out in the woop-woop and the next train back is Thursday next week. Well, that's a bit of a bugger.
  5. Someone viewed with affection; a chap.

    Commonwealth · Hawaii · slang
    How are you, you old bugger?
  6. A damn, anything at all.

    dated · slang
    I don't give a bugger how important you think it is.
  7. Someone who is very fond of something

    Commonwealth · slang
    I'm a bugger for Welsh cakes.
  8. A whippersnapper, a tyke.

    UK · US · slang
    What is that little bugger up to now?
Where this word comes from

Etymology tree Proto-Turkic *bulga-der. Proto-Turkic *bulgar Old Turkic 𐰉𐰆𐰞𐰍𐰀 (b¹wl¹g¹a) Proto-Indo-European *-nós Proto-Indo-European *-iHnos Proto-Slavic *-inъ Old Church Slavonic -инъ (-inŭ) Old Church Slavonic блъгаринъ (blŭgarinŭ)der. Medieval Latin Bulgarusder. Old French bogrebor. Middle English bougre English bugger From Middle English bougre (“heretic”), from Old French bougre, from Medieval Latin Bulgarus (“Bulgar”), from Old Church Slavonic блъгаринъ (blŭgarinŭ, “Bulgarian”), used in designation of heretics (especially the Bogomils, who arose around the 10th century AD in the First Bulgarian Empire), to whom various sexual practices such as anal sex were ascribed. Doublet of Bulgar.

verb/ˈbʌɡə/Received-Pronunciation/ˈbʌɡəɹ/General-American
  1. To have anal sex with, sodomize.

    Commonwealth · transitive · vulgar
  2. To break or ruin.

    Commonwealth · slang · transitive · vulgar
    This computer is buggered! Oh no! I've buggered it up.
  3. Expressing contemptuous dismissal of the grammatical object.

    Commonwealth · slang · transitive · vulgar
    Oh, bugger this! I'm going out for a beer instead.
Where this word comes from

Etymology tree Proto-Turkic *bulga-der. Proto-Turkic *bulgar Old Turkic 𐰉𐰆𐰞𐰍𐰀 (b¹wl¹g¹a) Proto-Indo-European *-nós Proto-Indo-European *-iHnos Proto-Slavic *-inъ Old Church Slavonic -инъ (-inŭ) Old Church Slavonic блъгаринъ (blŭgarinŭ)der. Medieval Latin Bulgarusder. Old French bogrebor. Middle English bougre English bugger From Middle English bougre (“heretic”), from Old French bougre, from Medieval Latin Bulgarus (“Bulgar”), from Old Church Slavonic блъгаринъ (blŭgarinŭ, “Bulgarian”), used in designation of heretics (especially the Bogomils, who arose around the 10th century AD in the First Bulgarian Empire), to whom various sexual practices such as anal sex were ascribed. Doublet of Bulgar.

intj/ˈbʌɡə/Received-Pronunciation/ˈbʌɡəɹ/General-American
  1. An expression of annoyance or displeasure.

    Commonwealth · Ireland · UK · slang · transitive · vulgar
    Bugger, I've missed the bus.
Where this word comes from

Etymology tree Proto-Turkic *bulga-der. Proto-Turkic *bulgar Old Turkic 𐰉𐰆𐰞𐰍𐰀 (b¹wl¹g¹a) Proto-Indo-European *-nós Proto-Indo-European *-iHnos Proto-Slavic *-inъ Old Church Slavonic -инъ (-inŭ) Old Church Slavonic блъгаринъ (blŭgarinŭ)der. Medieval Latin Bulgarusder. Old French bogrebor. Middle English bougre English bugger From Middle English bougre (“heretic”), from Old French bougre, from Medieval Latin Bulgarus (“Bulgar”), from Old Church Slavonic блъгаринъ (blŭgarinŭ, “Bulgarian”), used in designation of heretics (especially the Bogomils, who arose around the 10th century AD in the First Bulgarian Empire), to whom various sexual practices such as anal sex were ascribed. Doublet of Bulgar.

noun/ˈbʌɡə/Received-Pronunciation/ˈbʌɡəɹ/General-American
  1. One who sets a bug (surveillance device); one who bugs.

    Commonwealth · transitive · vulgar
Where this word comes from

Etymology tree English bug Proto-Indo-European *-yósder. Proto-Italic *-āzios Latin -āriusnom. Latin -āriusbor. Proto-Germanic *-ārijaz Proto-West Germanic *-ārī Old English -ere Middle English -ere English -er English bugger From bug (noun) + -er.

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Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.