booby

¹ American  

[boo-bee] / ˈbu bi /

noun

plural

boobies

1. a stupid person; dunce.

2. a gannet of the genus Sula, having a bright bill, bright feet, or both: some are endangered.

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booby ² American  

[boo-bee] / ˈbu bi /

noun

Slang: Sometimes Vulgar.

plural

boobies

1. a female breast.

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booby British  

/ ˈbuːbɪ /

noun

1. an ignorant or foolish person

2. the losing player in a game

3. any of several tropical marine birds of the genus Sula : family Sulidae , order Pelecaniformes (pelicans, cormorants, etc). They have a straight stout bill and the plumage is white with darker markings Compare gannet

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Other Word Forms

• boobyish adjective

Etymology

Origin of booby¹

1590–1600; earlier pooby, apparently blend of poop to befool (now obsolete) and baby; booby ¹ ( def. 2 ) perhaps by association with Spanish bobo < Latin balbus stuttering

Origin of booby²

1930–35, probably variant of earlier bubby

Example Sentences

It would require combat troops to secure perimeters, engineers with excavating equipment to search through debris and check for mines and booby traps, and special-operations forces with expertise in handling nuclear material.

From The Wall Street Journal

Engineers with excavating equipment would be needed to dig through the tons of debris blocking entrances to Iran’s subterranean nuclear complexes and check for mines and booby traps.

From The Wall Street Journal

Galileo swooped past, chasing a booby bird with a fish in its beak.

From Literature

The scene from 1981's Raiders of the Lost Ark shows Indiana Jones - played by Harrison Ford - outrunning a giant boulder triggered by a booby trap, before leaping to safety.

From BBC

According to police, often the sites targeted are remote, treacherous even, and reminiscent of an Indiana Jones expedition - minus the booby traps.

From BBC