What does bootylicious mean?
"Bootylicious" is an informal English adjective used to describe someone—usually a woman—with an attractive, curvaceous figure, particularly one with prominent buttocks. The word is a playful blend of the slang noun "booty" (referring to the buttocks) and the suffix "-licious," drawn from "delicious," which conveys desirability or appeal. It emerged from African American Vernacular English and hip-hop culture in the late twentieth century and entered mainstream awareness through Destiny's Child's 2001 hit song "Bootylicious," which helped cement the term's popularity and eventually secured it a place in major dictionaries. The word carries a lighthearted, admiring connotation and is common in pop music, celebrity journalism, and casual conversation. However, because it focuses attention on a person's body, it may be seen as objectifying in more formal settings. It remains a distinctly modern, culture-driven coinage rather than traditional vocabulary.
adjectiveInformal and playful in register, describing a person—typically a woman—as attractively curvaceous or voluptuous, especially with reference to the buttocks.
- (of a person, especially a woman) having an attractively full, curvaceous figure, particularly the buttocks; voluptuous in a sexually appealing way.
"The pop star strutted across the stage, celebrating her famously bootylicious figure."
"The dancer's bootylicious moves brought the house down."
"Critics dismissed the video as mere eye candy, but fans loved its unapologetically bootylicious celebration of curves."
"Bootylicious" earned a place in the Oxford English Dictionary largely thanks to Destiny's Child's 2001 hit single of the same name — a rare case of a chart-topping song directly canonizing slang.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of bootylicious
"Bootylicious" is a late-twentieth-century American coinage blending the slang sense of "booty" (the buttocks) with "-licious," a productive suffix derived from "delicious." It arose in African American Vernacular English and hip-hop circles before being propelled into widespread use by Destiny's Child's 2001 single "Bootylicious." Its suffix links it to other playful formations like "funkalicious," and ultimately to the Latin root behind "delicious."
How bootylicious is actually used
Strictly informal and colloquial; popularized by hip-hop and R&B culture around the late 1990s and early 2000s. It carries a playful, often admiring or celebratory connotation, but because it comments on someone's body it can be perceived as objectifying in formal or professional contexts. It is chiefly used attributively or predicatively about people, not things.
Easily confused with bootylicious
"Booty" can mean either plunder or treasure (from a separate root) or, in slang, the buttocks; "bootylicious" is the playful blend of that slang sense with "-licious" meaning deliciously attractive.