bogeyman

American  

[boog-ee-man, boh-gee-, boo-] / ˈbʊg iˌmæn, ˈboʊ gi-, ˈbu- /

South Midland and Southern U.S., boogeyman or bogyman

noun

plural

bogeymen

1. an imaginary evil character of supernatural powers, especially a mythical hobgoblin supposed to carry off naughty children.

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bogeyman British  

/ ˈbəʊɡɪˌmæn /

noun

1. a person, real or imaginary, used as a threat, esp to children

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Etymology

Origin of bogeyman

First recorded in 1885–90; bogey ¹ (variant of bogy ¹, in the sense “a hobgoblin, evil spirit”) + man

Example Sentences

He embraced the role of migra bogeyman like a tween boy scarfing down a bowl of Warheads, always promising more deportations, more chaos, more more.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 27, 2026

The third holds that we’ve come a long way in ridding ourselves of racism—particularly of the institutional kind—but stops short of declaring the bogeyman dead.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 2, 2026

Opponents of Proposition 50 have their own bogeyman.

From Barron's • Nov. 4, 2025

Keith Anderson, chief executive of Scottish Power, says: "The government has taken on the planning bogeyman to unlock growth and get us building. That's why the UK is now Iberdrola's biggest investment destination globally."

From BBC • Sep. 28, 2025

The bogeyman our mothers used to threaten us with when we were slow to finish our meals.

From "Amal Unbound" by Aisha Saeed