noun

bogey

boh-gee

noun

In golf, a score of one stroke over par on a hole.

"He made a bogey on the tricky par-3."

An unidentified aircraft, especially one suspected of being hostile.

"Radar picked up a bogey approaching from the east."

A ghost or menacing imaginary creature; also, any imagined threat.

"The old house was said to be haunted by a bogey."

How to Use Bogey

Learner’s notes

In plain EnglishDepending on context: a golf score of one over par, an unidentified (often hostile) aircraft, or a scary imaginary creature.

Common pairings

make a bogey bogey at three o'clock

bogeyed past tense, bogied past tense, bogeyed past tense, bogeys plural, bogeys plural, bogeys plural, bogeys singular, bogeys singular

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Can you complete this real example?

He made a _____ on the tricky par-3.

Likely related to bogle, an old word for a goblin or specter, itself possibly from a Welsh or Germanic root meaning "ghost" or "swollen thing."

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