boonies
plural noun
boon·ies
ˈbü-nēz 
US, informal
: a thinly settled rural area : boondocks
—used with the
Out here in the boonies, the electricity goes down in almost every storm.—
Stephen King
Stephen KingFor those of us who grew up in the boonies or the burbs, the effort to be chic has long been a sort of metropolitan imperative.—Cooke Goolrick
Cooke GoolrickExamples of boonies in a Sentence
she grew up in a big city, but chose to settle down way out in the boonies
Recent Examples on the Web
Texas’ binge buying of land in the boonies may be winding down.
—Dallas News, 12 Oct. 2022
That movie was so important to gay guys like me still living out in the boonies.
—Kelly Wynne, PEOPLE.com, 10 Mar. 2022
The boonies of Chiricahua National Monument have become a weekend home for Merrick, who spends hours using GPS to track down far-flung nesting sites.
—Anton L. Delgado, The Arizona Republic, 4 Dec. 2020
So people would pick offices way out in the boonies.
—Peter Hartlaub, San Francisco Chronicle, 25 Nov. 2020
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Dallas News, 12 Oct. 2022
That movie was so important to gay guys like me still living out in the boonies.
—Kelly Wynne, PEOPLE.com, 10 Mar. 2022
The boonies of Chiricahua National Monument have become a weekend home for Merrick, who spends hours using GPS to track down far-flung nesting sites.
—Anton L. Delgado, The Arizona Republic, 4 Dec. 2020
So people would pick offices way out in the boonies.
—Peter Hartlaub, San Francisco Chronicle, 25 Nov. 2020
Cite this Entry
“Boonies.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/boonies. Accessed 3 Nov. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share