How to Use bugaboo in a Sentence

bugaboo

noun
Definition of bugaboonext
Synonyms for bugaboonext
  • And in the Orioles’ 5-3 loss to the Mariners, that was the bugaboo for Castro again.
    — Eduardo A. Encina, baltimoresun.com, 25 June 2018
  • The first half has also been a bugaboo for the Bears this season.
    — Michael Arinze, Chicago Tribune, 6 Nov. 2022
  • The power play has been a Bruins bugaboo for much of the second half of the season.
    — Kevin Paul Dupont, BostonGlobe.com, 8 Apr. 2023
  • Of late, WSU’s pass defense has been the major bugaboo.
    — oregonlive, 21 Nov. 2019
  • The woes inside the division have been a year-long bugaboo.
    — Rustin Dodd, kansascity, 27 June 2017
  • The Spurs’ biggest bugaboo in the game: 19 turnovers, resulting in 26 OKC points.
    — Jeff McDonald, San Antonio Express-News, 10 Mar. 2021
  • First, let’s disabuse ourselves of the bugaboo of the mass exit of teachers.
    — Talia Milgrom-Elcott, Forbes, 21 Dec. 2021
  • Which brings us back to that bugaboo of the gas industry, weather.
    — Michael Lynch, Forbes, 9 Nov. 2021
  • Moreover, the Phillies have been a bit of a bugaboo for Darvish as his teams are just 1-6 against them in his seven career starts.
    — Michael Arinze, Chicago Tribune, 18 Oct. 2022
  • Notably absent from his long list of perps are trial lawyers, the preferred bugaboo of the right.
    — Seth Stern, Washington Post, 7 June 2019
  • The Thorns haven’t been without their chances, putting plenty of shots on goal, but finishing has been the bugaboo as of late.
    — oregonlive, 22 Apr. 2023
  • One bugaboo all season: failure of the defensemen to get shots through and on net.
    — BostonGlobe.com, 13 Apr. 2021
  • Pearl hopes his staff can find some ways to curb the bugaboo of foul issues that could eventually bite the Tigers.
    — al, 11 Jan. 2022
  • Winning streak pride aside, there were a number of bugaboos that cost the Cavs a 14th straight victory.
    — Joe Vardon, cleveland.com, 9 Dec. 2017
  • Showing up for the playoffs hasn’t been the Cowboys' issue; hanging around is the bugaboo.
    — Kevin Sherrington, Dallas News, 15 Oct. 2020
  • How about banning specific weapons, such as the left's biggest bugaboo — the evil AR-15?
    — Paul Jenkins, Alaska Dispatch News, 6 Oct. 2017
  • Most of all, however, an anemic offense has been the biggest bugaboo for the Jaguars.
    — Creg Stephenson | [email protected], al, 17 Nov. 2020
  • That means finishing, a bugaboo for this team for the past two seasons, will need to simply be better.
    — oregonlive, 28 Apr. 2023
  • But the bugaboo is that climate change is a slippery little devil.
    — Gary Peterson, The Mercury News, 5 Aug. 2019
  • There, a familiar bugaboo resurfaced — struggles in the red zone.
    — Michael Lev, The Arizona Republic, 14 Nov. 2021
  • But even if that comes to pass, what about Grantham's other main bugaboo: resource depletion?
    — Keith Kloor, Discover Magazine, 17 Apr. 2013
  • Bruce Bochy has a lot more to work with than Woodward or Jeff Banister did, but pitching remains a bugaboo.
    — Kevin Sherrington, Dallas News, 12 July 2023
  • The bugaboo then, as in years past, was the Black and Gold’s inability to establish inside ice in the offensive zone, to wring out that tough goal.
    — Kevin Paul Dupont, BostonGlobe.com, 2 Feb. 2023
  • UF’s issues go beyond a new-look offensive line, which many thought would be the biggest bugaboo.
    — Ross Dellenger, SI.com, 24 Aug. 2019
  • But Smiley ran on a theme of improving quality of life for residents, and the ATVs are a bugaboo.
    — Dan McGowan, BostonGlobe.com, 5 Apr. 2023
  • Doval allowed a run and put the go-ahead runner on first with a pitch clock violation — a consistent bugaboo for him — but still escaped in the top of the ninth.
    — Danny Emerman, The Mercury News, 28 Apr. 2024
  • Connecting play was the bugaboo for Portland throughout the first 45 minutes.
    — oregonlive, 27 Aug. 2022
  • Blocking is their primary bugaboo, but the offensive line has time to heal.
    — Nate Davis, USA TODAY, 17 Oct. 2022
  • But the 47-year-old with 44 worldwide victories was betrayed by his putter, long the bugaboo of one of the game’s premier ballstrikers.
    — Edgar Thompson, orlandosentinel.com, 7 Mar. 2021
  • Yet, the Knicks were a bugaboo for this Cavaliers team, winning three of the four regular-season meetings.
    — Michael Arinze, Chicago Tribune, 15 Apr. 2023

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'bugaboo.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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