What does buggering mean?
Buggering is the present participle of the verb "bugger," a coarse slang word with two main strands of meaning. Its literal sense denotes anal intercourse and is considered highly vulgar. More commonly heard in British English, though, is its figurative use meaning to ruin, break, or thoroughly botch something — as in "you've buggered it up now" — as well as the phrasal pattern "buggering about/around," which describes fiddling with something ineffectually or wasting time. The word derives from "bugger," which entered Middle English from Old French "bougre," itself rooted in Medieval Latin "Bulgarus" (Bulgarian), a label applied pejoratively to members of a heretical sect. Given its strong register — rude, informal, and best confined to casual speech — "buggering" is a word worth recognizing rather than one to deploy in formal writing. It remains vivid, idiomatic British slang for incompetence and interference.
verbPresent participle of the verb "bugger": to engage in anal intercourse with someone, or (in extended slang use) to ruin, break, or badly mess something up.
- Vulgar slang: engaging in anal intercourse with someone.
- British slang: ruining, breaking, or mishandling something.
- British slang (with "about" or "around"): wasting time fiddling aimlessly with something.
"He spent the whole afternoon buggering about with the carburettor and never got the engine running."
"If you keep buggering about with the settings, you'll never get it working properly."
"He was buggering the whole project up by refusing to follow the plan."
This crude little word traces all the way back to medieval Europe's fear of the Bogomils — a Bulgarian sect accused of heresy and sexual deviance, whose name gave English both "bully"-era slur "bougre" and ultimately "bugger."
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of buggering
"Buggering" is the present participle of "bugger," which entered English via Old French "bougre," borrowed from Medieval Latin "Bulgarus" — literally "a Bulgarian." The term arose from medieval associations between heretical Bulgarian sects such as the Bogomils and supposed sexual deviance, giving "bugger" and "buggery" their original sexual meaning. From this core, British slang developed the extended senses of ruining something or messing about. Related forms include the noun "bugger" and the noun "buggery."
Related word forms
How buggering is actually used
Highly informal and vulgar; avoided entirely in polite or professional contexts. The non-sexual senses (ruining something, messing about) are chiefly British and are milder than the literal sense but still considered coarse. In American English the word is rare and understood almost exclusively in its literal sense.
Easily confused with buggering
"Buffering" refers to pre-loading data during streaming, while "buggering" is either a vulgar term for anal intercourse or slang for messing something up.