say boo

verb

To say anything, especially in protest or to complain.

“She took the last piece of cake, and nobody said boo.”

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Meanings

verbsay boo (third-person singular simple present says boo, present participle saying boo, simple past and past participle said boo)

present singular third person says boo · participle present saying boo · participle past said boo · past said boo

  1. USinformalalways in the negativeTo say anything, especially in protest or to complain.

    She took the last piece of cake, and nobody said boo.

    3 more examples

    Nobody says boo about it, nobody has had any problems with it until the Hydrostorage case came along.

    1993 March 24, Mr. [Harris W. ]Fawell, quotee, Legislative Hearing on H.R. 1036 […] , →OCLC, page 41

    "[…]What did you say to her to make her run off?" An incredulous expression formed on Tad's face. "I didn't say boo to the kid.[…]"

    2004, Beverly Barton, Worth Dying For, →ISBN

    That kind of bad mind was not Christian but I wasn't saying boo. I am not that brave or that stupid.

    2018, Ingrid Persaud, “The Sweet Sop”, in The BBC National Short Story Award, →ISBN
Cite this entry
APA

say boo. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/say%20boo

MLA

“say boo.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/say%20boo. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “say boo,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/say%20boo.

Source: say boo on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.