"bludger" meaning in English

See bludger in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Noun

Audio: EN-AU ck1 bludger.ogg Forms: bludgers [plural]
Etymology: Corruption of bludgeoner. Head templates: {{en-noun}} bludger (plural bludgers)
  1. (Australia, slang) A pimp, a man living off the earnings of a harlot. Tags: Australia, slang
    Sense id: en-bludger-en-noun-a-SN8RLv Categories (other): Australian English
  2. (Australia, New Zealand, slang, derogatory) A person who avoids working, or doing their share of work, a loafer, a hanger-on, one who does not pull their weight. Tags: Australia, New-Zealand, derogatory, slang
    Sense id: en-bludger-en-noun-t1yrQysS Categories (other): Australian English, New Zealand English, Harry Potter, People Disambiguation of Harry Potter: 23 47 10 20 Disambiguation of People: 0 100 0 0
  3. A widespread species of large marine fish, Carangoides gymnostethus, in the jack family, Carangidae. Synonyms: bludger trevally, nakedbreast trevally, Bleeker's jackfish
    Sense id: en-bludger-en-noun-ohG27uaA
  4. A ball used in the sports of Quidditch and Muggle Quidditch.
    Sense id: en-bludger-en-noun-3TIZKvSE Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header, Pages with 1 entry, Pages with entries, Jackfish Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 23 24 4 49 Disambiguation of Pages with 1 entry: 23 21 7 48 Disambiguation of Pages with entries: 23 21 7 49 Disambiguation of Jackfish: 20 19 13 48
The following are not (yet) sense-disambiguated
Derived forms: dole bludger Related terms: bludge, freeloader, free rider

Inflected forms

Alternative forms

{
  "derived": [
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0 0",
      "word": "dole bludger"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "Corruption of bludgeoner.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "bludgers",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "bludger (plural bludgers)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "related": [
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0 0",
      "word": "bludge"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0 0",
      "word": "freeloader"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0 0",
      "word": "free rider"
    }
  ],
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Australian English",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              126,
              134
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "1938, Xavier Herbert, chapter VII, in Capricornia, page 106:",
          "text": "Oscar pondered for a while, then said, \"Oh, but halfcastes don't seem to be any good at all. All the men here are loafers and bludgers, the women practically all whores.\"",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              13,
              20
            ],
            [
              267,
              274
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "1997, Barbara Ann Sullivan, The Politics of Sex: Prostitution and Pornography in Australia since 1945, page 30:",
          "text": "This was the bludger or, in American parlance, the pimp, a man who lived on the earnings of prostitution. He was often the husband or boyfriend of a prostitute and could be actively involved in protecting or touting for the prostitute. Parliamentarians described the bludger as ‘the most detestable wretch on the face of the earth’ and as a man ‘worthy of no respect whatsoever’ (NSWPD 31:1675).",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A pimp, a man living off the earnings of a harlot."
      ],
      "id": "en-bludger-en-noun-a-SN8RLv",
      "links": [
        [
          "pimp",
          "pimp"
        ],
        [
          "harlot",
          "harlot"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(Australia, slang) A pimp, a man living off the earnings of a harlot."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "Australia",
        "slang"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Australian English",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "New Zealand English",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "23 47 10 20",
          "kind": "other",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Harry Potter",
          "orig": "en:Harry Potter",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "0 100 0 0",
          "kind": "other",
          "langcode": "en",
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          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
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      "examples": [
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          "bold_text_offsets": [
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          ],
          "ref": "2005, Australian House of Representatives, Parliamentary Debates: House of Representatives: Official Hansard, volume 270, page 84:",
          "text": "If she is doing the work of two parents because her husband has died or left her or is violent and has driven her and the kids from home, then suddenly she is a bludger.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A person who avoids working, or doing their share of work, a loafer, a hanger-on, one who does not pull their weight."
      ],
      "id": "en-bludger-en-noun-t1yrQysS",
      "links": [
        [
          "derogatory",
          "derogatory"
        ],
        [
          "loafer",
          "loafer"
        ],
        [
          "hanger-on",
          "hanger-on"
        ],
        [
          "pull their weight",
          "pull one's weight"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(Australia, New Zealand, slang, derogatory) A person who avoids working, or doing their share of work, a loafer, a hanger-on, one who does not pull their weight."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "Australia",
        "New-Zealand",
        "derogatory",
        "slang"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [],
      "glosses": [
        "A widespread species of large marine fish, Carangoides gymnostethus, in the jack family, Carangidae."
      ],
      "id": "en-bludger-en-noun-ohG27uaA",
      "links": [
        [
          "Carangidae",
          "Carangidae#Translingual"
        ]
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "bludger trevally"
        },
        {
          "word": "nakedbreast trevally"
        },
        {
          "word": "Bleeker's jackfish"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "23 24 4 49",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "23 21 7 48",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with 1 entry",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "23 21 7 49",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "20 19 13 48",
          "kind": "other",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Jackfish",
          "orig": "en:Jackfish",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A ball used in the sports of Quidditch and Muggle Quidditch."
      ],
      "id": "en-bludger-en-noun-3TIZKvSE",
      "links": [
        [
          "ball",
          "ball"
        ],
        [
          "sport",
          "sport"
        ],
        [
          "Quidditch",
          "Quidditch"
        ],
        [
          "Muggle Quidditch",
          "Muggle Quidditch"
        ]
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "audio": "EN-AU ck1 bludger.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/f/f8/EN-AU_ck1_bludger.ogg/EN-AU_ck1_bludger.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f8/EN-AU_ck1_bludger.ogg"
    }
  ],
  "word": "bludger"
}
{
  "categories": [
    "English countable nouns",
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English lemmas",
    "English nouns",
    "Pages with 1 entry",
    "Pages with entries",
    "en:Harry Potter",
    "en:Jackfish",
    "en:People"
  ],
  "derived": [
    {
      "word": "dole bludger"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "Corruption of bludgeoner.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "bludgers",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "bludger (plural bludgers)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "related": [
    {
      "word": "bludge"
    },
    {
      "word": "freeloader"
    },
    {
      "word": "free rider"
    }
  ],
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "Australian English",
        "English slang",
        "English terms with quotations",
        "Quotation templates to be cleaned"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              126,
              134
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "1938, Xavier Herbert, chapter VII, in Capricornia, page 106:",
          "text": "Oscar pondered for a while, then said, \"Oh, but halfcastes don't seem to be any good at all. All the men here are loafers and bludgers, the women practically all whores.\"",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              13,
              20
            ],
            [
              267,
              274
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "1997, Barbara Ann Sullivan, The Politics of Sex: Prostitution and Pornography in Australia since 1945, page 30:",
          "text": "This was the bludger or, in American parlance, the pimp, a man who lived on the earnings of prostitution. He was often the husband or boyfriend of a prostitute and could be actively involved in protecting or touting for the prostitute. Parliamentarians described the bludger as ‘the most detestable wretch on the face of the earth’ and as a man ‘worthy of no respect whatsoever’ (NSWPD 31:1675).",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A pimp, a man living off the earnings of a harlot."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "pimp",
          "pimp"
        ],
        [
          "harlot",
          "harlot"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(Australia, slang) A pimp, a man living off the earnings of a harlot."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "Australia",
        "slang"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
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        "English derogatory terms",
        "English slang",
        "English terms with quotations",
        "New Zealand English",
        "Quotation templates to be cleaned"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              161,
              168
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "2005, Australian House of Representatives, Parliamentary Debates: House of Representatives: Official Hansard, volume 270, page 84:",
          "text": "If she is doing the work of two parents because her husband has died or left her or is violent and has driven her and the kids from home, then suddenly she is a bludger.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A person who avoids working, or doing their share of work, a loafer, a hanger-on, one who does not pull their weight."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "derogatory",
          "derogatory"
        ],
        [
          "loafer",
          "loafer"
        ],
        [
          "hanger-on",
          "hanger-on"
        ],
        [
          "pull their weight",
          "pull one's weight"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(Australia, New Zealand, slang, derogatory) A person who avoids working, or doing their share of work, a loafer, a hanger-on, one who does not pull their weight."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "Australia",
        "New-Zealand",
        "derogatory",
        "slang"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "Entries using missing taxonomic name (species)"
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A widespread species of large marine fish, Carangoides gymnostethus, in the jack family, Carangidae."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "Carangidae",
          "Carangidae#Translingual"
        ]
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "bludger trevally"
        },
        {
          "word": "nakedbreast trevally"
        },
        {
          "word": "Bleeker's jackfish"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "glosses": [
        "A ball used in the sports of Quidditch and Muggle Quidditch."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "ball",
          "ball"
        ],
        [
          "sport",
          "sport"
        ],
        [
          "Quidditch",
          "Quidditch"
        ],
        [
          "Muggle Quidditch",
          "Muggle Quidditch"
        ]
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "audio": "EN-AU ck1 bludger.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/f/f8/EN-AU_ck1_bludger.ogg/EN-AU_ck1_bludger.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f8/EN-AU_ck1_bludger.ogg"
    }
  ],
  "word": "bludger"
}

Download raw JSONL data for bludger meaning in English (3.7kB)


This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2025-08-07 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2025-08-02 using wiktextract (8b3c49c and 3c020d2). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.