bummer
noun
Simple meaning
A lamb which has been abandoned by its mother or orphaned, and as a consequence is raised in part or in whole by humans.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
buhmerSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈbʌmɚ
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.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
colloquial
A disappointment, a pity, a shame.
A lamb (typically the smallest of a multiple birth) which has been abandoned by its mother or orphaned, and as a consequence is raised in part or in whole by humans.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C2 · Proficient (estimated)
- Frequency
- Uncommon
- Formality
- Technical
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: A disappointment, a pity, a shame.
Used this way, bummer is a reasonably familiar word with a clearly unfavourable pull. It turns up most in everyday conversation and social media or informal writing contexts.
- Emotional tone
- Negative
- Formality
- Casual
- Intensity
- Moderate
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Serious and weighty
- Usage feel
- Casual and conversational
Where it naturally appears
- Everyday conversation
- Social media/informal writing
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use bummer
- “Having to stand in line so long was a real bummer.”noun
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Common Patterns and Combinations
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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.