What does bugger mean?
Bugger is a coarse but remarkably versatile piece of British slang. As a noun, it most often denotes a person — someone annoying, unfortunate, endearing, or roguish, depending on tone: calling someone an 'old bugger' can be almost affectionate, while 'stupid bugger' is plainly insulting. As a verb, usually in the phrase 'bugger up', it means to ruin or break something, as in 'I've buggered up the accounts'. It also appears in fixed expressions such as 'bugger off' (go away), 'bugger all' (nothing), and the exclamation 'bugger it'. The word originated in the Middle Ages from a term for a person who commits buggery, itself derived from 'Bulgarian' through associations between the Bulgars and medieval heresy. Though mildly taboo, it is common in casual British, Irish, Australian, and New Zealand conversation and rarely causes serious offence there, though it remains inappropriate in polite or professional registers and is less idiomatic in American English.
Vulgar slang for a person regarded as annoying, contemptible, unlucky, or roguishly likeable; originally, a person who commits buggery.
"That lucky bugger won the lottery twice."
In British English the term often conveys affection or rueful humour rather than genuine insult.
Vulgar slang, chiefly British: to ruin, break, or botch something; also used intransitively in expressions of dismissal or annoyance.
"He completely buggered up the presentation by forgetting his notes."
Almost always appears as 'bugger up' in the transitive sense; 'bugger off' means 'go away'.
Standard plural, used only in the noun sense; typically applied pejoratively or humorously to people.
"Those buggers at head office cut our budget again."
Bugger traces back to 'Bulgarian' — medieval Western Europeans associated the Bulgars with heresy so intensely that the country's name became a byword for sexual deviance.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of bugger
Bugger derives from Middle French 'bougre', which came from Medieval Latin 'Bulgarus', meaning 'Bulgarian' — a reference to the Bogomil heretics of Bulgaria, whom Western Europeans associated with alleged deviant sexual practices. The word entered English in the late Middle Ages (attested from around the mid-16th century) with the literal sense of one who commits buggery, before broadening into its modern senses of a general term of abuse or exasperation and, as a verb, an expression for spoiling or breaking something. Cognates survive in French 'bougre' and related forms across European languages.
Related word forms
How bugger is actually used
Strongly informal and mildly to moderately vulgar, far more acceptable in British and Australian speech than in American English, where it can sound more jarring. In Britain it often carries affectionate or rueful rather than aggressive connotations ('lucky bugger', 'old bugger'), though it remains unsuitable for formal contexts and may still cause offence. As a verb ('bugger up'), it means to spoil or break something.
Easily confused with bugger
A booger is a piece of dried nasal mucus (chiefly American English), whereas bugger is a vulgar term for a contemptible person or an act of ruining something.