bougie

1 of 3

adjective

bou·​gie ˈbü-ˌzhē How to pronounce bougie (audio)
variants or less commonly boujee or bourgie
ˈbu̇r-ˌzhē,
ˈbü-ˌzhē How to pronounce bougie (audio)
bougier also boujier or bourgier; bougiest also boujiest or bourgiest
informal + usually disparaging : marked by a concern for wealth, possessions, and respectability : bourgeois
Soothing rhythms after midnight, theme songs to lucky affairs, shotgun weddings, and bougie proms, the fodder for adventurous crooners on amateur night at the Apollo …Michael A. Gonzales
After college, [writer Colson Whitehead] stopped going out to Sag Harbor much. "It was too bourgie," he said.Charles McGrath

bougie

2 of 3

noun (1)

variants or less commonly bourgie
plural bougies also bourgies
informal + usually disparaging
: a middle-class person : bourgeois
Of course, it may have occurred to Garber that people who summer in charming Nantucket houses, as she does, ought not to throw stones at wasteful bougies.Zoe Heller

bougie

3 of 3

noun (2)

bou·​gie ˈbü-ˌzhē How to pronounce bougie (audio) -ˌjē How to pronounce bougie (audio)
plural bougies
1
: a wax candle
2
a
: a tapering cylindrical instrument for introduction into a tubular passage of the body

Word History

Etymology

Adjective

bourge(ois) entry 1 + -y entry 1

Noun (2)

French, from Bougie, seaport in Algeria

First Known Use

Adjective

1968, in the meaning defined above

Noun (1)

1966, in the meaning defined above

Noun (2)

1732, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of bougie was in 1732

Dictionary Entries Near bougie

Cite this Entry

“Bougie.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bougie. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Medical Definition

bougie

noun
bou·​gie ˈbü-ˌzhē How to pronounce bougie (audio) -ˌjē How to pronounce bougie (audio)
1
: a tapering cylindrical instrument for introduction into a tubular passage of the body
2

Geographical Definition

Bougie

geographical name

see bejaïa
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