What does bogeyed mean?
To have 'bogeyed' is to have played a hole of golf in one stroke above par — for example, taking five shots on a par-four hole. In golf scoring, a bogey sits between a par and a double bogey: it is not a disaster, but it represents a small lost opportunity, which is why commentators often describe players as having 'bogeyed the closing holes' when a lead slips away. The term derives from 'bogey', a name coined by late nineteenth-century British golfers for an imaginary ideal opponent — a spectral 'bogey man' whose steady, flawless play set the benchmark score for each hole. By extension, 'bogeyed' is occasionally used informally outside sport to mean botched or fumbled something, though this figurative use is far less established than the strictly golfing one. The word belongs firmly to sporting vocabulary and appears constantly in tournament reports and broadcasts.
To play a hole of golf in one stroke more than par; past tense and past participle of 'bogey'.
"She bogeyed the eighteenth, finishing one shot behind the leader."
Standard in golf contexts; the figurative informal sense means to blunder.
(Informal, figurative) To make an error or mishandle something.
"He completely bogeyed the presentation by forgetting his notes."
Much less common than the golfing sense; informal register.
The golf score called a 'bogey' originally meant a perfect round against an imaginary ghostly opponent — a 'bogey man' invented by British golfers in 1890.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of bogeyed
The word comes from 'bogey', first used in golf in England around 1890, when players at Great Yarmouth conceived an imaginary opponent — the 'bogey man' — who played each hole in a fixed number of strokes. That figure became known as the 'bogey score'. The name itself traces back through 'bogey' meaning a goblin or spectre, a word of uncertain origin long associated with Scottish and Northern English folklore terms such as 'bogle', sharing roots that also give us 'bugbear', 'bugaboo', and 'boggle'.
Related word forms
How bogeyed is actually used
'Bogeyed' is standard in golf reporting and commentary. The extended figurative sense ('to blunder') is informal and much less common; most speakers outside golf will only recognize the golfing sense.
Easily confused with bogeyed
'Bogie' is a noun referring to the pivoting wheel assembly under a railway vehicle, whereas 'bogeyed' is the past tense of the golf term 'bogey' meaning one stroke over par.