bragged; bragging
: to talk boastfully
always bragging about his success
: to assert boastfully
bragged that she was the faster runner on her team
Synonyms
Noun
- bluster
- bombast
- braggadocio
- bull [slang]
- cockalorum
- fanfaronade
- gas
- gasconade
- grandiloquence
- hot air
- magniloquence
- rant
- rodomontade
- rhodomontade
Verb
Adjective
- A-OK
- A1
- awesome
- bang-up
- banner
- beautiful
- blue-chip
- blue-ribbon
- boffo
- bonny [chiefly British]
- bonnie
- boss [slang]
- brave
- bully
- bumper
- capital
- choice
- classic
- cool [slang]
- corking
- crackerjack
- cracking
- dandy
- divine
- dope [slang]
- down [slang]
- dynamite
- excellent
- fab
- fabulous
- famous
- fantabulous [slang]
- fantastic
- fine
- first-class
- first-rate
- first-string
- five-star
- four-star
- frontline
- gangbusters
- gangbuster
- gilt-edged
- gilt-edge
- gone [slang]
- grand
- great
- groovy
- heavenly
- high-class
- hot
- hype [slang]
- immense
- jim-dandy
- keen
- lovely
- marvelous
- marvellous
- mean
- neat
- nifty
- noble
- number one
- No. 1
- numero uno
- out-of-sight [slang]
- par excellence
- peachy
- peachy keen
- phat [slang]
- prime
- primo [slang]
- prize
- prizewinning
- quality
- radical [slang]
- righteous [slang]
- sensational
- slick
- splendid
- stellar
- sterling
- superb
- superior
- superlative
- supernal
- swell
- terrific
- tip-top
- top
- top-notch
- top-of-the-line
- top-shelf
- topflight
- topping [chiefly British]
- unsurpassed
- wizard [chiefly British]
- wonderful
Examples of brag in a Sentence
Noun
for all his brag about diving, he actually does very little
he's an irritating brag whose sense of selfhood is defined by what he owns
Verb
After winning the race, she couldn't stop bragging.
“I don't mean to brag,” he said, “but I'm an excellent cook.”
He bragged that his daughter was the best student in her class.
“I'm the fastest runner on the team,” she bragged.
Adjective
he did a really brag job on restoring that classic car
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Recent Examples on the Web
Kevin Scarbinsky | , al, 20 July 2023
Hugh Freeze explains a mature decision with a humble brag
The days of head coaches turning over play-calling duties completely to an offensive coordinator and not monitoring those calls probably ended with the 1997 Iron Bowl.
—Kevin Scarbinsky | , al, 20 July 2023
People on TikTok brag about being mistaken for being underage due to their religious sunscreen application.
—Grace Browne, WIRED, 12 July 2023
Team DeSantis has tried to turn a stumble into a brag.
—Susan Page, USA TODAY, 30 May 2023
This is not a brag.
—Joe Ray, Wired, 3 Jan. 2021
None of this is meant as a brag.
—Swapna Krishna, Wired, 27 Dec. 2021
Yes, this is absolutely a humble brag.
—Ashley Shaffer, USA TODAY, 7 Oct. 2020
And Olympus Mons is huge — about the size of France — a suitable brag to counter anyone's Everest stories.
—John Wenz, Discover Magazine, 23 Apr. 2019
Mabinty Quarshie, Washington Examiner, 21 Nov. 2023
And of course, a rivalry win is always good for bragging rights.
—Tim Chan, The Hollywood Reporter, 18 Nov. 2023
Rosenfeld says there were other potential suspects authorities ignored—including an inmate who supposedly bragged in prison about murdering Marlene.
—Peter Van Sant, CBS News, 28 Oct. 2023
Earlier this week, the actress appeared on Wednesday's episode of Live with Kelly & Mark, telling hosts Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos that her dad, Brian Williams, had been bragging about his grandparent skills.
—Hannah Sacks, Peoplemag, 27 Oct. 2023
Horry’s father, Robert, was a Lakers world championship teammate of Fisher, so that Harvard-Westlake vs. Crespi game on Jan. 10 at Crespi will have lots of bragging rights at stake.
—Eric Sondheimer, Los Angeles Times, 25 Oct. 2023
Nick’s biggest fear came true when Devin broke down in tears in front of his traditional, Korean parents and Ashley felt disrespected when Manuel bragged about their massive arguments to a new therapist.
—Kelly Wynne, Peoplemag, 13 Nov. 2023
One of its streets is called Paradise Drive; local fishermen brag that Pacifica Pier is among the state’s best places to catch salmon, striped bass, and crab.
—Daniel A. Gross, The New Yorker, 5 Nov. 2023
Visitors come primarily for bragging rights; stamps—both passport and postage—are one of the island’s top draws.
—Scott Laird, Condé Nast Traveler, 1 Nov. 2023
Jane Thier, Fortune, 6 Dec. 2022
Now, after the latest iteration of Kellyoke on the Kelly Clarkson Show, the host can add performing the knockout collaboration live alongside the country icon herself to her list of brag-worthy accomplishments.
—Larisha Paul, Rolling Stone, 1 Dec. 2022
This will also give you a brag bank to pull from when the interviewer asks you to articulate your strengths.
—Dominique Law, Forbes, 10 Nov. 2021
The Wild Insulated Water Bottle Allow us to humble-brag about The Wild water bottle with the cool logo of the L.A. Times newsletter about the outdoors in Southern California.
—Los Angeles Times, 4 Nov. 2021
Extremely familiar forays into bass-heavy brag rap, whooshing R&B, and Afrobeats break up the slog.
—Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 5 Sep. 2021
Lays down brag-worthy numbers, draws every eye, amazing value.
—K.c. Colwell, Car and Driver, 2 Sep. 2020
See More
Noun
Freeze explained his decision with a tremendous humble brag.
—Kevin Scarbinsky | , al, 20 July 2023
Hugh Freeze explains a mature decision with a humble brag
The days of head coaches turning over play-calling duties completely to an offensive coordinator and not monitoring those calls probably ended with the 1997 Iron Bowl.
—Kevin Scarbinsky | , al, 20 July 2023
People on TikTok brag about being mistaken for being underage due to their religious sunscreen application.
—Grace Browne, WIRED, 12 July 2023
Team DeSantis has tried to turn a stumble into a brag.
—Susan Page, USA TODAY, 30 May 2023
This is not a brag.
—Joe Ray, Wired, 3 Jan. 2021
None of this is meant as a brag.
—Swapna Krishna, Wired, 27 Dec. 2021
Yes, this is absolutely a humble brag.
—Ashley Shaffer, USA TODAY, 7 Oct. 2020
And Olympus Mons is huge — about the size of France — a suitable brag to counter anyone's Everest stories.
—John Wenz, Discover Magazine, 23 Apr. 2019
Verb
The former president then bragged about his administration's record of helping Iowa farmers with ethanol, along with protecting Social Security and Medicare.
—Mabinty Quarshie, Washington Examiner, 21 Nov. 2023
And of course, a rivalry win is always good for bragging rights.
—Tim Chan, The Hollywood Reporter, 18 Nov. 2023
Rosenfeld says there were other potential suspects authorities ignored—including an inmate who supposedly bragged in prison about murdering Marlene.
—Peter Van Sant, CBS News, 28 Oct. 2023
Earlier this week, the actress appeared on Wednesday's episode of Live with Kelly & Mark, telling hosts Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos that her dad, Brian Williams, had been bragging about his grandparent skills.
—Hannah Sacks, Peoplemag, 27 Oct. 2023
Horry’s father, Robert, was a Lakers world championship teammate of Fisher, so that Harvard-Westlake vs. Crespi game on Jan. 10 at Crespi will have lots of bragging rights at stake.
—Eric Sondheimer, Los Angeles Times, 25 Oct. 2023
Nick’s biggest fear came true when Devin broke down in tears in front of his traditional, Korean parents and Ashley felt disrespected when Manuel bragged about their massive arguments to a new therapist.
—Kelly Wynne, Peoplemag, 13 Nov. 2023
One of its streets is called Paradise Drive; local fishermen brag that Pacifica Pier is among the state’s best places to catch salmon, striped bass, and crab.
—Daniel A. Gross, The New Yorker, 5 Nov. 2023
Visitors come primarily for bragging rights; stamps—both passport and postage—are one of the island’s top draws.
—Scott Laird, Condé Nast Traveler, 1 Nov. 2023
Adjective
The benefits of a brag book Part of growing your salary comes with asking for a raise, which Tu believes most workers aren’t asking for often enough.
—Jane Thier, Fortune, 6 Dec. 2022
Now, after the latest iteration of Kellyoke on the Kelly Clarkson Show, the host can add performing the knockout collaboration live alongside the country icon herself to her list of brag-worthy accomplishments.
—Larisha Paul, Rolling Stone, 1 Dec. 2022
This will also give you a brag bank to pull from when the interviewer asks you to articulate your strengths.
—Dominique Law, Forbes, 10 Nov. 2021
The Wild Insulated Water Bottle Allow us to humble-brag about The Wild water bottle with the cool logo of the L.A. Times newsletter about the outdoors in Southern California.
—Los Angeles Times, 4 Nov. 2021
Extremely familiar forays into bass-heavy brag rap, whooshing R&B, and Afrobeats break up the slog.
—Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 5 Sep. 2021
Lays down brag-worthy numbers, draws every eye, amazing value.
—K.c. Colwell, Car and Driver, 2 Sep. 2020
See More
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'brag.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
Noun
Middle English, "ostentation, presumption," perhaps noun derivative of earlier brag, "ostentatious, spirited," of obscure origin
Verb
Middle English braggen, noun derivative of brag brag entry 1
Adjective
probably adjectival derivative of brag entry 1 or brag entry 2
First Known Use
Noun
14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2
Verb
14th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense
Adjective
1836, in the meaning defined above
Time Traveler
The first known use of brag was
in the 14th century
Phrases Containing brag
Dictionary Entries Near brag
Cite this Entry
“Brag.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/brag. Accessed 7 Dec. 2023.
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More from Merriam-Webster on brag
Nglish: Translation of brag for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of brag for Arabic Speakers
Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about brag
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