bobo

bo·bo
B3O1B3O1
/ˈboʊboʊ/

noun

A materialistic person who affects an anti-materialistic persona.

Less commonScrabble 8

Meanings

bobo1

nounbobo (plural bobos)

plural bobos

  1. A materialistic person who affects an anti-materialistic persona.

    The small things—an olive grove or a small chapel—take on greater meaning to a Bobo on vacation.

    2000, David Brooks, Bobos in Paradise […] , Simon & Schuster, →ISBN, page 207
    1 more example

    Peruse the Paris papers these days and you'll notice an obsession with bobos: no, they're not a team of cheerleaders or a troupe of clowns, but rich, artsy types known as bourgeois bohemians, who are now pretty much the tip of Parisian tastemakers. So when friends who were recently staying in Saint Germain des Pres asked me where to go to people watch, I told them to head for the Ninth Arrondissement citadel of bobo cool. […] The food’s better than might be expected at such a furiously fashionable address, and for an amusing eyeful of Parisian bobos in all of their splendor, this place can’t be beat.

    2011 April 12, Alex Lobrano, “Bobo Heaven in Paris”, in T Magazine, archived from the original on 16 Apr 2023, retrieved 26 Jun 2019
  2. A self-styled bodyguard or groupie of the nouveau riche (such as a professional athlete or musician).
  3. An imitation of something, particularly a well known product, usually lower in quality than the original.

bobo2

nounbobo (plural bobos)

plural bobos

  1. LouisianaMontrealA boo-boo (a minor injury).

Bobo3

nounBobo pl (plural only)
  1. pluralplural onlyA people indigenous to Burkina Faso, Africa.
nounBobo (plural Bobos)

plural Bobos

  1. Alternative letter-case form of bobo (“a bourgeois-bohemian”).
proper noun

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see

Origin

bobo · noun

Blend of bourgeois + bohemian, popularized by American journalist, commentator and editor David Brooks to describe the 1990s equivalent of the yuppie.

Full word history & related roots →

bobo · noun

  1. Frenchbobo“boo-boo”
  2. Englishbobo

Borrowed from French bobo (“boo-boo”).

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

Cite this entry
APA

bobo. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bobo

MLA

“bobo.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bobo. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “bobo,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bobo.

Source: bobo on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.