Standard Lemma guide

bogart

name · noun · verb · 7 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Australia: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • CMU ARPABET: B OW1 G AA2 R T Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

name

Meaning 1

An English surname from Dutch, most famously borne by American actor Humphrey Bogart.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

An obnoxious, selfish and overbearing person; an attention hog.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: slang

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

verb

Meaning 3

To selfishly take or keep something; to hog; especially to hold a joint (marijuana) dangling between the lips instead of passing it on.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: slang, transitive

Examples

  • Dude, don’t bogart the chocolate fudge!
  • Don’t bogart the can, man.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

verb

Meaning 4

To obtain by bullying, intimidation; be a tough guy.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: informal, transitive

Examples

  • He tried to bogart his way in.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

verb

Meaning 5

To behave like a bully.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: informal, intransitive

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

6

verb

Meaning 6

To behave in a manner similar to the on-screen characters portrayed by Humphrey Bogart.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

7

noun

Meaning 7

United States film actor (1899-1957)

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: Humphrey Bogart, Humphrey DeForest Bogart

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: actor, histrion, player, thespian, role player

History

Etymology

From the Dutch surname Bogaert, derived from bogaard, contraction of boomgaard (“orchard”), from boom (“tree”) + gaard (“garden”). Doublet of Baumgart, Bangert, and Bungert, all from German.

From actor Humphrey Bogart, from Dutch surname Bogaard (“keeper of an orchard”), from boomgaard (“treegarden, orchard”), cognate to English boom (“piece of wood”)/beam + garden. Senses of selfishness and excess evolved from the original 1960s use meaning “keep a joint in the mouth instead of passing it on”, recalling the actor’s signature practice of keeping a cigarette dangling from his mouth even while speaking. Other senses of “bullying” or “tough guy” also originated in the 1960s and recall the actor’s various movie roles. Another potential origin of the vernacular comes from Humphrey Bogart's role in the film The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948) in which his character, Dobbs, becomes increasingly selfish with the gold mine that he shares with his two partners. Or it could be from The Big Sleep (1946) in which Lauren Bacall lights a cigarette for him while he is tied up, forcing him to dangle the cigarette from his lips for the rest of the scene. According to an interview with "The Fraternity of Man" bandmember Lawrence "Stash" Wagner, he "got down on my knees and begged" the ABC record label to put their song "Don't Bogart That Joint" on a single, agreeing to change the title to "Don't Bogart Me." On the origin on the song, he said, "The band was smoking some pot in our rehearsal house up in Laurel Canyon, when Elliot [Ingber] turned to me and said, 'Hey man, don’t bogart that thing.' I asked him, what does ‘bogart’ mean? He said, “You know, like Humphrey Bogart always had a cigarette in his hand or hanging from his lips when talking. Well, you were hanging onto that joint while your lips were flapping.' I said, 'Cool, we should write a song using Bogart.'" Source.

Across languages

Translations

6 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • German: Platzhirsch — attention hog
  • Czech: jockovat — selfishly take or keep something; hog
  • Faroese: kradda — selfishly take or keep something; hog
  • Spanish: acaparar — selfishly take or keep something; hog
  • Esperanto: elpreni — get something by bullying, intimidation; be a tough guy
  • Spanish: arrebatar — get something by bullying, intimidation; be a tough guy
Real reading context

bogart in complete knowledge articles