brag

1 of 3

noun

ˈbrag 

1

: a pompous or boastful statement

2

: arrogant talk or manner : cockiness

3

: braggart

brag

2 of 3

verb

bragged; bragging

intransitive verb

: to talk boastfully

always bragging about his success

transitive verb

: to assert boastfully

bragged that she was the faster runner on her team

bragger

ˈbra-gər 

noun

braggy

ˈbra-gē 

adjective

brag

3 of 3

adjective

bragger; braggest

: first-rate

Synonyms

Noun

• bluster
• bombast
• braggadocio
• bull [slang]
• cockalorum
• fanfaronade
• gas
• gasconade
• grandiloquence
• hot air
• magniloquence
• rant
• rodomontade
• rhodomontade

Verb

• blow
• boast
• bull [slang]
• crow
• gasconade
• swagger
• vapor
• vaunt

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

Choose the Right Synonym for brag

boast, brag, vaunt, crow mean to express pride in oneself or one's accomplishments.

boast often suggests ostentation and exaggeration

boasts of every trivial success

, but it may imply a claiming with proper and justifiable pride.

the town boasts one of the best museums in the area

brag suggests crudity and artlessness in glorifying oneself.

bragging of their exploits

vaunt usually connotes more pomp and bombast than boast and less crudity or naïveté than brag.

vaunted his country's military might

crow usually implies exultant boasting or bragging.

crowed after winning the championship

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

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Loewe’s Puzzle bag, which Anderson introduced in his first collection, and which is made from soft leather cut into patchwork pieces and then stitched back together at rakish angles, is a choice non-blingy brag. —Rebecca Mead, The New Yorker, 17 Mar. 2025

How 'Intermezzo' sparked envy, became the galley brag of 2024 I, dear reader, am not above a galley brag. —Clare Mulroy, USA TODAY, 27 Feb. 2025

Verb

And according to Curtis Wilson, who last year was honored as Aurora’s first-ever Volunteer of the Year for his efforts across every part of the city, Irvin has earned the right to brag about that. —R. Christian Smith, Chicago Tribune, 18 May 2025

This is exactly the kind of high-stakes, high-profile fight that these law firms brag about winning. —Aron Solomon, MSNBC Newsweek, 13 May 2025

Adjective

Do not blunder into a situation of getting caught with a brag afoot. —Lance Eliot, Forbes, 5 Dec. 2024

Usually, embedding the brag portion is a handy means of somewhat hiding the brag. —Lance Eliot, Forbes, 5 Dec. 2024

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

Phrases Containing brag

• humble-brag

Rhymes for brag

• ag
• bag
• dag
• drag
• flag
• gag
• hag
• hagg
• lag
• mag
• nag
• rag

Kids Definition

brag

1 of 2 noun

ˈbrag 

1

: a boastful statement

2

: overly proud talk or manner

3

: braggart

brag

2 of 2 verb

bragged; bragging

: to praise oneself or one's possessions or achievements

bragger

ˈbrag-ər 

noun