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Definition of bugbear noun from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

bugbear

noun
 
/ˈbʌɡbeə(r)/
 
/ˈbʌɡber/
(especially British English)
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  1. a thing that annoys people and that they worry about
    • Inflation is the government's main bugbear.
    Word Originlate 16th cent.: probably from obsolete bug ‘bogey’ (of unknown origin) + the noun bear.
See bugbear in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary
previously
adverb
 
 
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