Meaning & use
boo-boo
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Meanings
nouncountable
A small, minor injury such as a scratch or bruise, especially as described to a child.
Grammar: Takes a plural, boo-boos; often used with little words like 'a little boo-boo'.
Patterns
- a little boo-boo
- get a boo-boo
- kiss a boo-boo better
The little boy showed his mother the boo-boo on his knee and asked for a bandage.
It's just a small boo-boo, nothing serious.
nouncountableinformalhumorous
A silly or careless mistake, usually one with small consequences.
Grammar: Used jokingly by adults; the common pattern is 'make a boo-boo'.
Patterns
- make a boo-boo
- a silly boo-boo
I made a boo-boo and sent the reply to the whole office instead of one person.
She admitted her boo-boo and reprinted the page with the correct date.
Word forms
| plural | boo-boos |
|---|
Common combinations
- make a boo-boo
- Everyone makes a boo-boo now and then; just correct it quickly.
- a little boo-boo
- The toddler cried over a little boo-boo on her elbow.
- kiss a boo-boo better
- He kissed the boo-boo better and sent her back to play.
Synonyms and how they differ
- blunder
- A more serious mistake; blunder can cost money or reputation, while a boo-boo is trivial and often funny.
- slip-up
- An informal adult word for a small mistake; less childish than boo-boo.
- scratch
- Works only for the injury sense, and names the injury itself rather than the childish way of talking about it.
Commonly confused: boo-boo or boo?
boo-boo vs boo
Boo is an interjection shouted to scare someone or to show disapproval at a performance; a boo-boo is an injury or mistake.
Practice
The toddler fell on the grass and cried over a tiny ___ on his knee.
Choose one answer.
A boo-boo is a small injury, often said to or about children. 'Budget' and 'brand' don't fit the body, and a bullock is an animal.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “boo-boo”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.