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boob

noun · verb

Simple meaning

An informal word for a silly mistake.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

boob
US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈbub

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

noun

  1. colloquialslang

    A breast, especially that of an adult or adolescent female human.

  2. informalbritish

    A mistake.

  3. AustraliaUS

    A prison; jail.

verb

  1. informalintransitive

    Commit a faux pas or a fault or make a serious mistake

  2. To behave stupidly; to act like a boob.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
B1 · Intermediate (estimated)
Frequency
Common
Typical Use
Everyday English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: A breast, especially that of an adult or adolescent female human.

Used this way, boob is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It turns up most in everyday conversation and social media or informal writing contexts.

Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Very casual
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
Playful
Usage feel
Playful and informal

Where it naturally appears

  • Everyday conversation
  • Social media/informal writing

Usage note

Slang: natural in speech and messages between friends, but out of place in school, work or published writing.

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

boob tubeboob jobpoor boobbasic boobpenguin boobvintage boobleft boobbantam boob

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Similar Words, What’s the Difference?

Close in meaning, but not always interchangeable.

  • bosom

    A breast, one of a woman's breasts.

  • knocker

    A person's breast, especially if large.

  • breast

    Either of the two organs on the front of a female human's chest, which contain the mammary glands.

Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Word family

Words built from the same root.

  • boobynounDerived noun

    An ignorant or foolish person.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • boob tubenounCompound term

    An electronic device that receives television signals and displays them on a screen.

More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Synonyms

noun

Sense: breast or especially that of an adult

sinblunder

verb

Sense: commit a faux pas or a fault

booby

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.