Meanings
alternative bobkes · alternative bobkis · alternative bopkes · alternative bopkus · alternative bubkes · alternative bubkess · alternative bubkis · alternative bubkiss · alternative bumpkiss · alternative bupkas · alternative bupkass · alternative bupkes · alternative bupkiss · alternative bupkus
- USslanguncountableAbsolutely nothing; nothing of value, significance, or substance.
We searched for hours and found bupkis.
2 more examples
But we did nothing, absolutely bupkis that day / And I say, what the hell am I doing drinking in L.A. at 26?
1997, “Drinking in L.A.”, performed by Bran Van 3000She answered her own question. “Without the connection to other people,” she said, “you have bupkis.”
2022 April 20, John Leland, quoting Robin Solod, “How Loneliness Is Damaging Our Health”, in The New York Times, →ISSNSynonyms: zilch
Synonyms & antonyms
nounAbsolutely nothing; nothing of value, significance, or substance.
Origin
- Proto-Slavic*bobъ“bean, fava bean”
- Yiddishבאָבקעס
- Englishbupkis
Borrowed prior to 1931 from Yiddish באָבקעס (bobkes), plural of באָבקע (bobke, “goat or sheep dropping”), from באָב (bob, “bean”) + ־קע (-ke) calquing Polish bobek (“oval-shaped turd”), ultimately from Proto-Slavic *bobъ (“bean, fava bean”). Popularized by American Jewish writer Sam Denoff in mid-1960s The Dick Van Dyke Show.
More words from Yiddish, Proto-Slavic
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Danish bar røv at trutte i
- bar røv at trutte iabsolutely nothing
Finnish ei jälkeäkään
- ei jälkeäkäänabsolutely nothing
German gar nichts
- gar nichtsabsolutely nothing
Romanian canci, nexam
- canciabsolutely nothing
- nexamabsolutely nothing
Spanish nada
- nadaabsolutely nothing
Swedish inte ett skvatt
- inte ett skvattabsolutely nothing
Yiddish באָבקעס
- באָבקעס (bobkes)absolutely nothing
Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
bupkis. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bupkis
“bupkis.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bupkis. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “bupkis,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bupkis.
Source: bupkis on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.