Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

bughouse

/ˈbʌɡhaʊs/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.53 in modern English

Syllables: bug-house
IPA: /ˈbʌɡhaʊs/

14

Scrabble Score

8

Letters

2

Syllables

7

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A flea-infested hotel, lodging-house etc.

American usage; Slang

noun

American usage; Slang

noun

A hospital, especially a lunatic asylum.

American usage; Slang

noun

A cheap and dirty cinema.

Slang

noun

Clipping of bughouse chess

adj

American usage; Slang

Example Sentences

"Well, he was ready for the bughouse, certainly."
"“Get up and dress. I can stand a rattlesnake, but I hate a liar. Do I have to tell you again?” He caught McGuire by the neck and stood him on the floor. / “Say, friend,” cried McGuire wildly, “are you bughouse? I’m sick—see? I’ll croak if I got to hustle. What’ve I done to yer?”—he began his chronic whine—“I never asked yer to⸺”"
"'Just what's up on this train? It seems bughouse to me.'"
"Ewball, man, that is some bughouse talk."

Etymology

From bug + house.

Usage

American usage
Slang

Inflected Forms

bughouses (plural) more bughouse (comparative) most bughouse (superlative)

Phrases

bughouse chess

Questions

How do you pronounce bughouse?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈbʌɡhaʊs/.
What does bughouse mean?: A flea-infested hotel, lodging-house etc.
Where does bughouse come from?: From bug + house.

How to pronounce bughouse

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “bughouse”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈbʌɡhaʊs/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “bughouse”.
Repeat and practice — Say “bughouse” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.