Etymology

Noun

1. A hoax, prank or jest
2. A fraud or sham
3. A fraudster or cheat
4. A type of chewy sweet (candy)

Interjection

1. nonsense!
   • 1843, Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol in Prose, Being a Ghost Story of Christmas, stave 1,

     ‘A Merry Christmas, uncle! God save you!’ cried a cheerful voice. It was the voice of Scrooge’s nephew, who came upon him so quickly that this was the first intimation he had of his approach.

     ‘Bah!’ said Scrooge, ‘Humbug!’

Verb

1. To play a trick on.
2. To cheat, swindle.

Usage notes

• The spellings and exist, but are not nearly so common as and .