bupkis

or bub·kes

[ buhp-kuhs, buhp-kis ]

noun
  1. nothing: They've told us bupkis—we're going to have to find out what's going on for ourselves.

  2. very little; the smallest amount: It was a revolutionary piece of technology, and yet the inventor sold it for bupkis.

Origin of bupkis

1
First recorded in 1935–40; from Yiddish bobkes, plural of bobke “piece of goat excrement, worthless thing,” literally “little bean,” from Slavic, equivalent to Polish bób “broad bean” + -ke, diminutive suffix; see also bean
  • Also bup·kes, bup·kus, bub·kis .

Words Nearby bupkis

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use bupkis in a sentence