Meanings
plural boondocks
- tiddlywinksA shot that strikes a squopped wink and sends it flying far away.
My family has just rediscovered tiddlywinks. […] [I] haven't quite worked out the boondock!
2012, Helen Brooks, The Rainy Day Book
present singular third person boondocks · participle present boondocking · participle past boondocked · past boondocked
- USTo camp in a dry brushy location.
- USTo stay in a self-contained recreational vehicle without connections to water, electricity, or sewer services, especially in a remote location.
When traveling in the American Southwest, we avoid other people by boondocking in the desert.
Synonyms: overland, random camping
- tiddlywinksTo strike a squopped wink and send it flying far away.
The wise winker also engages in boondocking, a defensive strategy. It involves sending an opponent's winks far from the cup.
2002, Peder Jones, Jay Farness, College Writing Skills, page 160
Synonyms & antonyms
verbTo stay in a self-contained recreational vehicle without connections to water, electricity, or sewer services, especially in a remote location.
Origin
- Proto-Malayo-Polynesian*bunduk
- Tagalogbundok
- Englishboondock
1910s during or around the Philippine–American War after the Spanish–American War, from Tagalog bundok (“mountain”), adopted by occupying American soldiers serving in the mountains or rural countryside of the American-occupied Philippines under the United States Military Government of the Philippine Islands. The term was reinforced or re-adopted during World War II under the U.S. military, where terms like boondockers (“shoes suited for rough terrain”) came originally in 1944 as U.S. services slang for field boots. It was later shortened to boonies by 1964 originally among U.S. troops serving in the Vietnam War in reference to the rural areas of Vietnam, as opposed to Saigon.
More words from Tagalog
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Chinese Mandarin 窮鄉僻壤 /穷乡僻壤
- 窮鄉僻壤 /穷乡僻壤 (qióngxiāngpìrǎng)rural area
Dutch platteland, buiten
- plattelandrural area
- buitenrural area
- kampongrural area
- wildkamperenstay in a recreational vehicle
Finnish erämaa, pensasaro
- erämaarural area
- pensasarorural area
- pusikkorural area
- pöpelikkörural area
- leiriytyä erämaassacamp in dry location
- yöpyä erämaassastay in a recreational vehicle
French cambrousse
- cambrousserural area
German Einöde, Pampa
- Einöderural area
- Pamparural area
- Walacheirural area
- Kartoffelstepperural area
- Hundetürkeirural area
- vulg. Arsch der Weltrural area
Japanese 僻地, 奥地
- 僻地 (hekichi)rural area
- 奥地 (okuchi)rural area
Persian تورقوزآباد
- تورقوزآباد (turquz-âbâd)rural area
Romanian coclauri
- coclaurirural area
Russian глушь, захолу́стье
- глушь (glušʹ)rural area
- захолу́стье (zaxolústʹje)rural area
Spanish barrios lejanos, quintos infiernos
- barrios lejanosrural area
- quintos infiernosrural area
Swedish vischan
- vischanrural area
Tagalog probinsiya
- probinsiyarural area
Yiddish העק
- העק (hek)rural area
Cite this entry
boondock. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/boondock
“boondock.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/boondock. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “boondock,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/boondock.
Source: boondock on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.