tohu-bohu

to·hu·bo·hu
UK/ˌtəʊ.huːˈbəʊ.huː/UK/ˌtoʊ.huˈboʊ.hu/

noun

Chaos, disorder, confusion.

OriginBiblical Hebrew תֹהוּ וָבֹהוּ →
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Meanings

nountohu-bohu (uncountable)

alternative tohubohu

  1. uncountableChaos, disorder, confusion.

    Yet a judge may […] be required to dive, at a moment's notice, into the tohu-bohu of inquiries, which have never yet emerged from the stage of chaos...

    1875, W. E. [William Ewart] Gladstone, The Church of England and Ritualism
    1 more example

    […] / The decorative manias we obey / Die in grimaces round us every day, / Yet through their tohu-bohu comes a voice / Which utters an absurd command — Rejoice.

    1940, W. H. Auden, In Sickness and in Health

Origin

  1. Biblical Hebrewתֹהוּ וָבֹהוּ
  2. Englishtohu-bohu

From Biblical Hebrew תֹהוּ וָבֹהוּ, from תֹּהוּ (tóhu, “nothingness, void”) + בֹּהוּ (bóhu, “emptiness, desolation”).

More words from Biblical Hebrew

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Esperanto tohuvabohuo
  • tohuvabohuoformless chaos; void
French tohu-bohu
  • tohu-bohuformless chaos; void
German Tohuwabohu
  • Tohuwabohuformless chaos; void
Hungarian tohuvabohu
  • tohuvabohuformless chaos; void
Cite this entry
APA

tohu-bohu. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tohu-bohu

MLA

“tohu-bohu.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tohu-bohu. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “tohu-bohu,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tohu-bohu.

Source: tohu-bohu on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.